The Gard (French pronunciation: [ɡaʁ] ) is a department in Southern France, located in the region of Occitanie. It had a population of 748,437 as of 2019; its prefecture is Nîmes. . The department is named after the river Gardon. In recent decades of the twenty-first century, local administration and French speakers have returned to the original Occitan name of the river, Gard (Occitan pronunciation: [gaɾ]). It is part of a revival of Occitan culture. History. In classical times the Gard area was settled by Romans and their allies. They built the Via Domitia across the region in 118 BC.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gard