The Departmental Council, the elective assembly which administers the department, brings together the departmental councilors, elected by constituency (canton) by direct universal suffrage for six years under a two-round majority binomial ballot (one man and one woman obligatorily). The main powers of the Departmental Council are social action (child protection, RSA social solidarity income), roads, education (management of colleges), culture, local development, housing, tourism, the financing of SDIS (firefighters), etc.