Ariège is a department in south-western France named after the Ariège River. Ariège is one of the novel 83 departments formed during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The department is part of the current region of Midi-Pyrénées and is surrounded by the French departments of Haute-Garonne, Aude, and Pyrénées-Orientales, as well as Spain and Andorra on the south. The natural features are dominated by the Pyrenees Mountains, which form the border between France and Spain. Ariège stands on the eastern limit of oceanic dominance over rainfall.

The department of Ariège is a french department in the the region of Midi-Pyrenees, whose name comes from the river Ariège. At the national level, the state promotes economic development policy and legislation to control developments in the economy and support economic, environmental, technological and social. The regional level is the preferred level of implementation of economic development policy. Thus, the state services in the region are involved in facilitation, coordination and evaluation of actions to ensure they are fully in policy planning.