Couëron (; ) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Loire-Atlantique Loire-Atlantique (; br, Liger-Atlantel; before 1957: ''Loire-Inférieure'', br, Liger-Izelañ, link=no) is a department in Pays de la Loire on the west coast of France, named after the river Loire and the Atlantic Ocean. It had a population o ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is part of the historic French

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

. Couëron is one of the 24 communes of the Nantes Métropole.

Geography

Physical geography

Couëron is located 10 miles (16 km) west of Nantes, on the North bank of the French longest river, the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. The town is bordered by the towns of

Sautron Sautron (; br, Saotron) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique ''département'' in western France. Geography Sautron is located 10 km north west of Nantes, close to the Nantes-Vannes expressway. Surrounding communes are Vigneux-de-Bretagn ...

and

Vigneux-de-Bretagne Vigneux-de-Bretagne is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department The following is a list of the 207 communes of the Loire-Atlantique department of Franc ...

to the north; Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc to the west;

Indre Indre (; oc, Endre) is a landlocked department in central France named after the river Indre. The inhabitants of the department are known as the ''Indriens'' (masculine; ) and ''Indriennes'' (feminine; ). Indre is part of the current administ ...

to the east;

Le Pellerin Le Pellerin (; br, Pentelloù) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population Personalities Le Pellerin was the birthplace (21 May 1759) of Joseph Fouché. See also *Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department ...

and

Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau (; br, Sant-Yann-ar-Granneg) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. Population Notable people * Barthélémy Baraille (1882-1970), a member of the criminal anarchist Bonnot gang, was a muni ...

to the south. It is one of the 19 towns of the agglomeration of

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

, therefore it is part of the Nantes Métropole (8th most populous across France) and the "espace urbain" of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire.

Human geography

For many years the city was the location of the Usine Pontgibaud-Tréfimétaux, which manufactured non-ferrous metal products. Couëron's public transportation is provided by the TAN. There are four bus lines: * line 91 * line 84 * night line J * line Express' Couëron Town Hall - Gare maritime The city is also accessed by a railway station (only regional journey) and a ferry which crosses the Loire so as to join the Pellerin. The city is divided into two distinct sectors: * Couëron downtown * La Chabossière, a more recent borough that is nearer to Nantes.

Administration

The current mayor of Couëron is Jean-Pierre Fougerat ( PS) until 2014. The municipal council has been led by a left-wing coalition since 1995. In 2008, it was re-elected with 100% of the vote since there was no opposition. Couëron's inhabitants massively vote for left parties in presidential and legislative elections. In the 2012 presidential election,

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

(PS) received an astonishing 68.83% of the vote in the second round against then-President,

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa (; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...

( UMP). Couëron is twinned with the following places: *

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 N ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Fleurus Fleurus (; wa, Fleuru) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, ...

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

Population

Couëron is one of the most cosmopolitan towns of Loire-Atlantique. This is mainly due to an important Polish community that immigrated in the early 1930s, and the presence of many people of Spanish ancestry that fled the civil war in Spain. The population of Couëron is younger than the national average. The proportion of people above 60 years old is lower than in France (19.6% vs. 22.7%).

Personalities

John Baptist Mary David John Baptist Mary David, S.S. (french: Jean-Baptiste-Marie David), (June 4, 1761 – July 12, 1841) was a French-born prelate of the Roman Catholic Church in the United States. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Bardstown in Kentucky from 183 ...

(1761-1841), Bishop of Bardstown *

Francis II of Brittany Francis II (Breton: ''Frañsez II'', French: ''François II'') (23 June 1433 – 9 September 1488) was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the grandson of John IV, Duke of Brittany. A recurring theme in Francis' life would be hi ...

(1433-1488), last Duke of Brittany, father of famous Duchess Anna of Brittany * Thibault Quéré *

Alcide d'Orbigny Alcide Charles Victor Marie Dessalines d'Orbigny (6 September 1802 – 30 June 1857) was a French naturalist who made major contributions in many areas, including zoology (including malacology), palaeontology, geology, archaeology and anthrop ...

(1802- 1857), French naturalist. *

Prudent-Louis Leray Prudent-Louis Leray, (29 August 1820 – 25 May 1879) was a French painter and lithographer. Life Born in Couëron, Leray was the son of a famous doctor from Nantes who distinguished himself during the 1832 cholera pandemic. After studying as ...

(1820–1879), French painter and lithographer