Loire-Atlantique

History

The department of the Loire-Atlantique was created like the majority of the other French departments to the French revolution, in 1790, pursuant to the law of the December 22nd 1789, starting from part of the province of Brittany more the commune of Boissière-of-Gilded the, parish of the Mauges " commune" with the steps of Anjou and the Steps of Brittany because belonging to the County of Anjou but depend on the diocese on Nantes, and which was attached to the Loire-Inférieure. Other cases: Saint-Andre-Thirteen-Ways attached to the the Vendée although more historically related to the Steps of Brittany, or conversely of Moistened again historically related to the Poitou and attached to the Loire-Inférieure. The department was called then Loire-Inférieure , name which it preserved until the March 9th 1957, date on which it took its current name.

The department took again the major part of the territory of old the évêché of Nantes, plus a small portion of the South of the évêché of Rennes, towards the Pays of Mée, but amputee of part of the Pays of Mitau (attached to the Morbihan), in the North-West. Following movement initiated since 1917 with “areas Clémentel”, on June 30th, 1941, a decree of the Vichy government created economic areas by gathering certain departments between them. To the great displeasure elected officials of the department, the Loire-Atlantique was not integrated in the area of Rennes (which corresponded besides to the current area Brittany), but in that of Angers (from which the limits were rather different from the current area of the Countries of the Loire since including the Indre-et-Loire, occupied part, and not containing the Vendée attached to the area of Poitiers.). The reasons of this division are not clear, certain sources evoke a will to facilitate the supply between Nantes and Angers, distant of less than 100 km and whose routes transportation are well structured, others speak about a way of slicing between Rennes and Nantes which disputed the prefecture of such an area, will to maintain a capacity centralized extremely which would have been incompatible with the rebirth of the old provinces. In any event, this decision was not called in question to the fall of the Régime of Vichy, since an ordinance of January 10th, 1944 creating of the “administrative areas”, instituted by the Général de Gaulle, went in the same direction. Those were nevertheless dissolved after its departure of Matignon in 1946

In 1955 were created areas of program in order to optimize town and country planning. Jean Vergeot, general police chief associated in the Plan, was charged to define contours of them. Among the 22 areas which it created, it includes the Loire-Atlantique in that of the Pays of the Loire. This inclusion was seems it difficult to him to slice, but it was based on economic considerations (telephone exchanges, transport, etc) to carry out a project which was at the time purely of internal use of the administration.

The creation of the regional prefects in 1964, of the regional public corporations in 1972 and of the areas in 1982 ratified this cutting and gave him a legitimacy. For this same period, the Breton identity was affirmed and the position of the Loire-Atlantique in the Countries of the Loire was disputed more and more (the general advice of the department voted in 1972 its wish to be attached to Brittany, for example).

At present, it seems that a strong proportion of inhabitants of the Loire-Atlantique wishes his fastening with the Brittany area (evolving/moving of 44 % in 1986 with 68 % in 1999, and even 75 % in 2001 (survey IPSOS), but only 28 % and 35 % against, by excluding the undecided ones, according to two finer studies of 1999 and 2006). The results of this survey were denounced by a militant (after having carried out his analysis, it finds a result, which, with a 1 % close - 68 % -, corresponds to the following result). The last survey goes back (November 2006), carried out by the general advice, gives 67 to it; % of characters favorable to the reunification.

The fastening of the Loire-Atlantique continues to be the object of debates. The public opinion would seem to be favorable there: several surveys indicate that 55 to 65% questioned people would wish it. Nevertheless, according to another survey (" TMO-Région" from June 2006), for a sampling of 1000 people (most important until now) 68% of the people who decide are favorable there, which accounts for 55% of the questioned people whereas 19% did not wish to express itself. It however clearly appears in this same survey that 60% of probed remain favorable to the maintenance of the Loire-Atlantique in the area of the Countries of the Loire, and only 10% of the questioned people do not come to a conclusion about this maintenance. A finer analysis of the statistical data reveals than a strong proportion of the inhabitants of Loire-Atlantique thinks than this debate on fastening is not any more one topical question. It appears in fact that only 31% of the inhabitants of Loire-Atlantique are really favorable to fastening in Brittany, 37% are really against this fastening, and 32% do not have a real opinion. In Brittany area, 37% of the inhabitants are really favorable to fastening, 27% are against, and 36% do not have a real opinion.

The inscriptions 44 = BZH are visible and the subject animates sometimes often polemical discussions. Moreover, resemblance between the economic area of Rennes created by the mode of Vichy and the current area Brittany (it is not the case of the majority of the other areas, but these deux-là coincides).

No modification of regional cutting is with the day order. Main associations, lobbies and political parties militant for the reunification are Brittany Réunie (ex CUAB ), Emgann , UDB , the Greens and the UDF (of which the elected officials with the District council of Brittany expressed themselves in favor of the reunification, as well as UDF main road contrary to the elected officials ligériens who did not give an opinion). On the other hand, of the political small parts like the Republican movement and citizen (MRC) and the Party of the workers, an association as the CUAR (Committee for the administrative unit of the republic) in the same way decided against the separation of the Loire Atlantique of the Countries of the Loire. In addition, of many UMP elected officials, PS, PRG and PCF decided (cf favorably votes for unanimous resolution of the district council of Brittany on July 2nd, 2001 and on October 8th, 2004, as well as the thousands of signatures of the Charte of the elected officials for the reunification by mayors, members of Parliament, city council men… of the 5 departments. The General advice of the Loire-Atlantique, having voted a request for referendum (of national consultation type and not a Referendum of local initiative) on June 22nd, 2001 in this direction, awaits a bill to organize it. The result of such a referendum would make it possible to finally know the real poucentage of the favorable opinions or opposed to the stated topic and to discover the results by polling station and commune.

Policy

As most of the remainder of the west of France, the Loire-Atlantique with the reputation to be a department of right-hand side. Indeed, of catholic tradition (except for the working area of Saint-Nazaire), the department voted on the right throughout the III {{E}} République, in opposition to the left anticlerical. To leaving the Second world war, the electorate of the department turned to MRP, of sensitivity Christian-Democrat, confirming his anchoring on the right political chessboard. However, the dechristianization started to touch the department starting from the Années 1960, and the left progresses continuously since. Thus, Nantes passed on the left at the time of the local elections of 1977.

Following the national rout of the right-hand side to cantonal of 2004, the latter lost the control of the department for the first time since the French revolution.

See also the articles :

General advice of the Loire-Atlantique
List of the deputies of the Loire-Atlantique
List of the senators of the Loire-Atlantique
List of the general advisers of the Loire-Atlantique
List of the prefects of the Loire-Atlantique

Geography

Article detailed: Geography of the Loire-Atlantique, List of the rivers of the Loire-Atlantique

Located on the French Atlantic Coast, the Loire-Atlantique is bordering on the departments of the Morbihan in the North-West, of Ille-et-Vilaine in North, Maine-et-Loire in the East and the Vendée in the South. The west coast is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The department is crossed by the the Loire, which is thrown in the ocean on the level of Saint-Nazaire. The Loire Valley is called here Basse-Loire, Loire-Inférieure (the downstream part of the Loire), or Val of Brittany (making following the Valley of Anjou starting from Ingrandes).

Geologically, the department belongs to the Armorican Massif. All in all, the relief of the Loire-Atlantique is marked rather little. In the North of the Loire, one finds the " scrap-metal angevin " , this departmental area, which corresponds roughly to the Countries of Châteaubriant and Ancenis, belonged to a national forest area bearing the same name and which also extend on the departments from Maine-et-Loire and of the Mayenne. It is about a whole of plates of altitude close to 100 m (the culminating point of the department is the hill of Bretèche, close to Châteaubriant), with varied geology (primary education schists and sandstones, tertiary shelly sands), crossed of is in west by the valleys of the Expensive , the Don and the Erdre. The climate is oceanic, wet and soft. The height annual average of precipitations varies between 650 and 800 mm and the annual average temperature are about 11° C.

With 115 m of altitude of average, the Loire-Atlantique is least low department of France).

In the South of the river, towards the Country of Retz, the landscape is rather marked by a succession of hills reaching 30 Mr. the most outstanding relief is however the furrow of Brittany, a succession of hills which crosses the department according to a south-eastern north-western direction.

The relief is dug in the north of the Loire by the valleys of the Erdre, of the Chézine, the Gesvres, in the South by that of the Nantes Sèvre. The Loire constitutes a major geographical element; upstream of Nantes, the Loire is still primarily river; it is generally considered that the Estuaire of the Loire starts on the level of Nantes and the variations of level related to the oceanic influence of the Marée S are perceptible there (the Acheneau, affluent of the Loire located downstream from Nantes, sees sometimes its course being reversed at the time of strong tides).

The Loire-Atlantique is marked by many marshes, like the Brière in the north of Saint-Nazaire or the marshes of Couëron downstream from Nantes. In the south of Nantes, the Lac of Large-place is one of the more big lakes of France, its very low depth (less than 2 m) combined with an extremely weak slope making its surface very variable. In a general way, the department comprises wetlands enormously.

The Loire-Atlantique has more than 130 km of coasts along the Atlantic Ocean.

Climate

detailed Article: Climate of the Loire-Atlantique

With its oceanic frontage directed towards the West and a little accentuated relief, the Climate of the Loire-Atlantique east of the moderate type oceanic, and changes little from one place to another of the department. The winters are soft (6° on average) there, the fairly hot summers (24° on average). Precipitations are frequent (especially in winter and in spring) but seldom violent; the average figure of 820 mm of rain per annum mask in addition a irregularity of the one year precipitations on the other.

Economy

Leitartikel: Economy of the Loire-Atlantique

Tourism

detailed Article: Tourism in Loire-Atlantique

Demography

detailed Article: Demography of the Loire-Atlantique

The inhabitants and living are called the Nantais and Nantaises In 1999, the total population of the Loire-Atlantique was of 1.134.266 inhabitants, which placed the department in 13th position among the the most populated French departments (7th apart from the Île-de-France).

The average density of the department is of 166 habitants/km ², but this number masks important disparities. The agglomerations of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire alone concentrate 60% of the population of Loire-Atlantique. In fact, three-quarters of the Nantes resident along the Loire (mainly on Right Bank), since Ancenis to the estuary. The two urban surfaces Nantaises most important which do not belong to this unit are those of Châteaubriant (12 065 inhabitants) and Clisson (11 664 inhabitants).

Compared to 1990, the department gained more than 82.000 inhabitants (that is to say a progression of 0,84%), one of the strongest increases in France for this period, as much due to the natural balance than as of migratory balance. Without surprise, the agglomeration of Nantes is principal the recipient. With 544.932 inhabitants, this one was located in 1999 at the 7th national rank (an inversion of the tendency of the years 1960 to 1980 when Nantes was depopulated).

The following table recapitulates the evolution of the population of the department:

Culture

detailed Article: Culture of the Loire-Atlantique

Jean Rouaud, native of the commune of Campbon, obtained the Goncourt price in 1990 for the Fields of honor. Jules Verne is native of Nantes.

Language

In addition to the French, several languages are or were traditionally spoken in Loire-Atlantique:

the Gallo, (the istouaérr dou gallo of Haùtt-Bertaèyn E of Loère-Atlantiqe; History of the gallo of High-Brittany and the Loire-Atlantique), .
the Gallo, Romance dialect spoken in High-Brittany and its surroundings (Mayenne Western, southern Avranchin, etc), was spoken in the major part of the Loire-Atlantique. The gallo is at present almost threatened of extinction, because of linguistic standardization and of the overlap between the large regional metropolises and their rural environment (Nantes and Rennes). Since a few years, a new attraction for the cultural heritage and languages of oil other than French (Gallo, Angevin, poitevin, Norman, Picardy, etc.), develops a little everywhere in France. In spite of the bond symbolic system between Brittany and Celtic language, the surprising vitality of the Gallo reveals that between 200.000 and 400.000 people today in Brittany continue to speak the gallo regularly and that between 400.000 and 800.000 the comprennent.
(Saun the galo poènt of Bertaèyn! Without the gallo not of Brittany!)

the Breton Language, language Celtic of Armorique was spoken in the Western third about the department about a line active about Herbignac, Guérande until the Croisic like with Pornic. Its retreat was progressive, the most important small islands of “resistance” having been the peninsula guérandaise and the Brière. In the peninsula of Guérande, the Breton language was used until the beginning of the 20th century and the last native speaker died in Batz-on-Sea, at the village of Kermoisan, in 1965. In addition, certain popular quarters of Nantes as Chantenay were also Breton-speaking until in the years 1920 to 1930, consequence of the immigration of people originating in parts of Brittany where one spoke Breton. Nowadays, balanced manpower that provides the investigation Étude of the family history carried out by INSEE in 1999 are of more than 6 500 speakers of Breton of more than 18 years for this only department. In particular manpower of the bilingual schools are added to it which were assembled to 393 pupils to the re-entry 2005 or the pupils following of the courses of Breton in the public corporations of the secondary (more than 150 at the time of school year 2001/2002).

Others

See too

Internal bonds

French Department
Brittany
Country of the Loire
administrative Detachment of the Loire-Atlantique
General advice of the Common Loire-Atlantique
of the Loire-Atlantique
List of bridges of the Loire-Atlantique

External bonds

General advice of Loire-Atlantique
Prefecture of Loire-Atlantique

References

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