Charente-Maritime () is a department in the

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

on the southwestern coast of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kilometres (2,650 sq mi).

History

Previously a part of the provinces of Saintonge and

Aunis Aunis () is a historical province of France, situated in the north-west of the department of Charente-Maritime. Its historic capital is La Rochelle, which took over from Castrum Allionis (Châtelaillon) the historic capital which gives its name ...

, Charente-Inférieure was one of the 83 original departments created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

on 4 March 1790. On 4 September 1941, during World War II, it was renamed as Charente-Maritime. When the department was first organised, the

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 ...

of Saintes was designated as the prefecture of the department (Saintes had previously been the capital of Saintonge). This changed in 1810 when

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

passed an imperial decree to move the prefecture to

. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, the department was invaded by the German Army and became part of

occupied France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. To provide defence against a possible beach landing by the Allies, the

Organisation Todt Organisation Todt (OT; ) was a civil and military engineering organisation in Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945, named for its founder, Fritz Todt, an engineer and senior Nazi. The organisation was responsible for a huge range of engineering pr ...

constructed a number of sea defences in the area. Defences such as pillboxes are particularly noticeable on the beaches of the presqu'île d'

Arvert Arvert () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department and Nouvelle-Aquitaine region of south-western France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Alvertons'' or ''Alvertonnes''. Geography Arvert is located some 14 km north-w ...

and the island of Oléron. At the end of the war, the two last pockets of German resistance were both in this area: at La Rochelle in the north and

Royan Royan (; in the Saintongeais dialect; oc, Roian) is a commune and town in the south-west of France, in the department of Charente-Maritime in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region. Its inhabitants are known as ''Royannais'' and ''Royannaises''. Capi ...

in the south. Despite

having been nearly destroyed during an

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

bombing raid on 5 January 1945, the town was not liberated by the

French Forces of the Interior The French Forces of the Interior (french: Forces françaises de l'Intérieur) were French resistance fighters in the later stages of World War II. Charles de Gaulle used it as a formal name for the resistance fighters. The change in designation ...

until April of the same year. La Rochelle was finally liberated on 9 May 1945.

Geography

Charente-Maritime is part of the

administrative region. It is surrounded by the departments of Gironde, Charente,

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres () is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a population of 374,878 in 2019.

Dordogne Dordogne ( , or ; ; oc, Dordonha ) is a large rural department in Southwestern France, with its prefecture in Périgueux. Located in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region roughly half-way between the Loire Valley and the Pyrenees, it is name ...

and

Vendée Vendée (; br, Vande) is a department in the Pays de la Loire region in Western France, on the Atlantic coast. In 2019, it had a population of 685,442.

. It has a land area of 6864 km² and 651,358 inhabitants as of 2019. The important rivers are the Charente and its tributaries, the

Boutonne The Boutonne () is a long river in the Deux-Sèvres and Charente-Maritime departments in western France. Its source is in the village of Chef-Boutonne (french: head of the Boutonne). It flows generally southwest. It is a right tributary of the ...

and the

Seugne The Seugne () is an long river in the Charente-Maritime département, in western France, left tributary of the Charente. Its source is in the commune of Montlieu-la-Garde, west of the village. It flows generally north-northwest. North from C ...

, along with the Sèvre Niortaise, the Seudre and the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – ...

, in its downstream part, which is the estuary of the Gironde. The department includes the islands of

Île de Ré Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; en, Isle of Ré, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its high ...

, Île d'Aix, Ile d'Oléron and

Île Madame Île Madame () is an island in the Charente estuary on the Atlantic coast of France joined to the mainland by a causeway. The island has an area of four square miles and is unpopulated. It is part of the town Port-des-Barques. Hundreds of Catho ...

. The department forms the northern part of the

Aquitaine Basin The Aquitaine Basin is the second largest Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary basin in France after the Paris Basin, occupying a large part of the country's southwestern quadrant. Its surface area covers 66,000 km2 onshore. It formed on Varisca ...

. It is separated from the Massif Armoricain by the

Marais Poitevin The Marais Poitevin () or Poitevin Marsh is a large area of marshland in western France. The name means "Poitou's Marsh" or the "Marsh of the Poitou region". It is a remnant of what was the former . The western zone near the sea (about two-thi ...

to the north-west and from the Parisian basin by the Seuil du Poitou to the north-east. The highest point in the department is in the woods of Chantemerlière, near the

of Contré in the north-east, and rises to 173 m.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 8,000 inhabitants:Populations légales 2019: 17 Charente-Maritime
INSEE

Climate

The climate is mild and sunny, with less than 900 mm of precipitation per year and with insolation being remarkably high, in fact, the highest in Western France including southernmost sea resorts such as Biarritz. Average extreme temperatures vary from in summer to in winter (as of 2022).

Economy

The economy of Charente-Maritime is based on three major sectors:

tourism Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...

maritime industry Maritime transport (or ocean transport) and hydraulic effluvial transport, or more generally waterborne transport, is the transport of people (passengers) or goods (cargo) via waterways. Freight transport by sea has been widely used throu ...

, and

manufacturing Manufacturing is the creation or production of goods with the help of equipment, labor, machines, tools, and chemical or biological processing or formulation. It is the essence of secondary sector of the economy. The term may refer to ...

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

and

pineau Pineau des Charentes, (Pineau Charentais, or simply Pineau) is a regional aperitif of western France, made in the départements of Charente, Charente-Maritime, and (to a lesser extent) Dordogne. While popular within its region of production, ...

are two of the major agricultural products with

maize Maize ( ; ''Zea mays'' subsp. ''mays'', from es, maíz after tnq, mahiz), also known as corn (North American and Australian English), is a cereal grain first domesticated by indigenous peoples in southern Mexico about 10,000 years ago. The ...

and

sunflowers ''Helianthus'' () is a genus comprising about 70 species of annual and perennial flowering plants in the daisy family Asteraceae commonly known as sunflowers. Except for three South American species, the species of ''Helianthus'' are native to N ...

being the others. During the summer months, families flock from all over Europe to bask in the sun and enjoy the local seafood.

, popular for its extensive beaches and attractions, is one of the most famous seaside resort of atlantic coast. Charente-Maritime is the headquarters of the major

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not ...

producer Marennes-Oléron. Oysters cultivated here are shipped across Europe.

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

is a shipbuilding site and has been a major French naval base since 1665.

is a seat of major French industry. Just outside the city, in Aytré, is a factory for the French engineering giant Alstom, where the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

, the cars for the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and other metros are manufactured (see :fr:Alstom Aytré). It is a popular venue for tourism, with its picturesque

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...

harbour and city walls.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called ''Charentais-Maritimes''.

Politics

Departmental Council of Charente-Maritime

The

President of the Departmental Council In France, the President of the Departmental Council ( French: ''Président du Conseil départemental'') is the locally elected head of the departmental council, the assembly governing a department in France. The position is elected by the depa ...

has been Dominique Bussereau ( LR) since 2008. He was replaced by Sylvie Marcilly after the departmental elections of June 2021.

National representation

In the 2017 legislative election, Charente-Maritime elected the following members of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

: In the Senate, Charente-Maritime is represented by three members: Daniel Laurent (since 2008), Corinne Imbert (since 2014) and Mickaël Vallet (since 2020).

Tourism

Popular destinations include

, Saintes,

Saint-Jean-d'Angély Saint-Jean-d'Angély (; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Jhan-d'Anjhéli'') is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. The commune has its historical origins in the Abbey of Saint-Jean-d'Angély. Royal abbey Founded in the ...

, the Île d'Aix,

and Île d'Oléron. The department is served by the

Surgères Surgères () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department, southwestern France. It is the home of the Surgères 48 Hour Race. History Middle ages The site of Surgères was occupied in Neolithic times, but the earliest recorded history co ...

and

. It can also be reached by motorway by the A10 (E5, Paris-

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

) and A837 (E602, Saintes-Rochefort). File:La Rochelle2tours.jpg,

File:Port Royan.jpg,

, a seaside resort File:Cabanes ostréicoles au Château-d'Oléron.jpg, Oyster farms on the island of Oléron File:Talmont sur Gironde.jpg, Talmont-sur-Gironde File:Jonzac 17 Église façade 2013.jpg,

Jonzac Jonzac (; french: label=Poitevin-Saintongese, Jhonzat) is a commune of the Charente-Maritime department, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, southwestern France. The historian Jean Glénisson (1921–2010) was born in Jonzac as well as the philosopher Jean ...

File:Fort boyard aout 2006-6.JPG, Fort Boyard File:Hennessy cognac.jpg, Barrels of

Hennessy Jas Hennessy & Co., commonly known simply as Hennessy (), is a French producer of cognac, which has its headquarters in Cognac, France. It is one of the "big four" cognac houses, along with Martell, Courvoisier, and Rémy Martin, who together ma ...

cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

References

External links

* *
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
*
Tourism website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Nouvelle-Aquitaine region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Departments of Nouvelle-Aquitaine States and territories established in 1790