Toulouse was the capital of the former province of Languedoc (provinces were abolished during the French Revolution). It is the capital of the Midi-Pyrnes rgion, the largest rgion in metropolitan France although it encompasses only half of the former Languedoc province. It is also the prfecture (capital) of the Haute-Garonne dpartement. It is the seat of the Acadmie des Jeux Floraux, the equivalent of the French Academy for the Occitan-speaking regions of southern France, making Toulouse the unofficial capital of Occitan culture. The traditional Occitan cross was adopted as the symbol of both the City of Toulouse and the newly-founded Midi-Pyrnes rgion.