Page "Ardèche" Paragraph 13

Since the 1860s, the Ardèche economy has been split between the prosperous Rhône valley and the relatively poor and mountainous Haut Vivarais on the western side of the department.

Sheep farming did not lead to the prosperity hoped for and wine growing, which was badly hit by the phylloxera crisis during the closing decades of the 19th century, has had to compete with other more established areas of France.