a department in northern France, in the area drained by the Oise and Marne rivers. Area, 7,400 sq km. Population, 533,000 (1975). The capital of Aisne is Laon. As of 1968, industry employed approximately 35 percent of the economically active population in the department, and agriculture employed 17 percent. The major industries are metallurgy (Hirson), machine building (St. Quentin and Soissons), food processing (Laon, Tergnier, and Bucy-de-Long), and the production of chemicals (Chauny), textiles (St. Quentin and Moy-de-l’Aisne), and glassware (St. Gobain and Blérancourt). Agriculture includes meat and dairy farming, as well as the cultivation of wheat, barley, and sugar beets.
a river in northern France; a left tributary of the Oise River of the Seine River basin. The Aisne flows through the plains of the Paris Basin. It has a length of 280 km and drains an area of 7,700 sq km. The mean flow rate is approximately 60 cu m per sec. There are locks on the river, which is navigable for 116 km. It is linked by canals with the Marne and Meuse rivers. The city of Soissons is situated on the Aisne.