Île De Ré
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Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; , ) is an
island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...
off the Atlantic coast of
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
near
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
,
Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...
, on the northern side of the
Pertuis d'Antioche The Pertuis d'Antioche (, ''Passage of Antioch'') is a strait on the Atlantic coast of Western France between two islands; Île de Ré to the north, and Oléron to the south. To the east lies the continental coast between the cities of La Rochelle ...
strait A strait is a water body connecting two seas or water basins. The surface water is, for the most part, at the same elevation on both sides and flows through the strait in both directions, even though the topography generally constricts the ...
. Its highest point has an elevation of . It is long and wide. The Île de Ré bridge, completed in 1988, connects it to
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
on the mainland.


Administration

Administratively, the island is part of the
Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Chérente-Marine''; ) is a Departments of France, department in the French Regions of France, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine, on the country's west coast. Named after the river Charente (river), Charen ...
department,
Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...
(before 2015: Poitou-Charentes). The island is also a part of the Charente-Maritime's 1st constituency. Located in the
arrondissement of La Rochelle The Arrondissement of La Rochelle () is an arrondissement of France, located in the Charente-Maritime department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It has 58 communes. Its population is 227,693 (2021), and its area is . Composition The communes of ...
, Île de Ré includes two cantons:
Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
eastwards and Ars-en-Ré westwards. The island is divided into 10 communes, from East to West:
Rivedoux-Plage Rivedoux-Plage () is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is situated on the Île de Ré. The commune includes the beach of Sablanceau. People who live on the island ...
, La Flotte, Sainte-Marie-de-Ré,
Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, "St Martin of Île de Ré, Ré"; Saintongeais dialect, Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'', before 1962: ''Saint-Martin'') is a Communes of France, commune in the western French Departments of France, department of Char ...
,
Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré () is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in southwestern France. It is situated on the Île de Ré. Population See also * Communes of the Charente-Maritime department The f ...
, La Couarde-sur-Mer, Loix, Ars-en-Ré, Saint-Clément-des-Baleines, Les Portes-en-Ré.


History

During Roman times, Île de Ré was an archipelago consisting of three small islands. The space between the islands was progressively filled by a combination of human activity ( salt fields gained from the sea) and silting. In the seventh and eighth centuries the island, along with
Oléron The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (, ; Saintongese dialect, Saintongese: ''ilâte d'Olerun''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort), on the southern side of the Pertuis d'Antio ...
, formed the ''Vacetae Insulae'' or Vacetian Islands, according to the '' Cosmographia''. Since ''Vaceti'' is another name for the Vascones, this reference is evidence of Basque (Gascon) settlement or control of the islands by that date. In 745, Hunald, the Duke of Aquitaine, retired to a monastery on the island. In the mid-twelfth century, a
Cistercian The Cistercians (), officially the Order of Cistercians (, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint Benedict, as well as the contri ...
monastery was founded on the isle, where the Abbot Isaac of Stella sojourned amid the
Becket controversy The Becket controversy or Becket dispute was the quarrel between Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket and King Henry II of England from 1163 to 1170.Bartlett ''England Under the Norman and Angevin Kings'' pp. 401–402 The controversy culminated ...
. The island became English in 1154, when
Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor of Aquitaine ( or ; ; , or ; – 1 April 1204) was Duchess of Aquitaine from 1137 to 1204, Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, and Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II. As ...
became queen of England through her marriage with
Henry Plantagenet Henry II () was Monarchy of the United Kingdom, King of England from 1154 until his death in 1189. During his reign he controlled Kingdom of England, England, substantial parts of Wales in the High Middle Ages, Wales and Lordship of Ireland ...
. The island reverted to France in 1243, when
Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...
returned it to Louis IX through a treaty. In 1360, however, with the Treaty of Brétigny, Île de Ré briefly became English again, until the 1370s. The first fishing locks were constructed between the 13th and 15th centuries. The locks consist of fixed fish traps which become submerged at high tide and retain the fish when the tide goes out.


Capture (1625)

In February 1625, the Protestant Duke of Soubise led a
Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...
revolt against the French king
Louis XIII Louis XIII (; sometimes called the Just; 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643) was King of France from 1610 until his death in 1643 and King of Navarre (as Louis II) from 1610 to 1620, when the crown of Navarre was merged with the French crown. ...
, and after publishing a manifesto, invaded and occupied the island of Ré. He seized Ré with 300 soldiers and 100 sailors. From there he sailed up to Brittany, where he led his successful attack on the royal fleet in Blavet, although he could not take the fort after a three-week siege. Soubise then returned to Ré with 15 ships and soon occupied the Ile d'Oléron as well, thus giving him command of the Atlantic coast from
Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...
to
Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...
. Through these actions, he was recognized as the head of the reform, and named himself "Admiral of the Protestant Church". A few months later, in September 1625, Charles, Duke of Guise, organized a landing in order to recapture the islands, with the support of the Dutch (20 ships) and English navies. The fleet of
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
was defeated, as was Soubise with 3,000 men, when he led a counter-attack against the royal troops who had landed on the island. The island was invested forcing Soubise to flee to England.


Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (1627)

In 1627, an English invasion force under the command of George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, attacked the island in order to relieve the
Siege of La Rochelle The siege of La Rochelle (, or sometimes ) was a result of a war between the French royal forces of Louis XIII of France and the Huguenots of La Rochelle in 1627–1628. The siege marked the height of Huguenot rebellions, the struggle between ...
. Buckingham's forces were poorly equipped and failed to even scale the walls of the citadel as their scaling ladders were too short. After three months of combat in the Siege of Saint-Martin-de-Ré against the French under Marshal Toiras, the Duke was forced to withdraw. The English lost more than 4,000 out of 7,000 troops during the campaign.


Later history

The main port, Saint-Martin, was fortified by Vauban in 1681 as a component of the belt of forts and citadels built to protect the military harbour of Rochefort. It was later used as a depot for
convict A convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison". Convicts are often also known as "prisoners" or "inmates" or by the slang term "con", while a common label for former convicts ...
s on their way to the penal settlements of
New Caledonia New Caledonia ( ; ) is a group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, southwest of Vanuatu and east of Australia. Located from Metropolitan France, it forms a Overseas France#Sui generis collectivity, ''sui generis'' collectivity of t ...
and
French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...
. Prisoners included
Alfred Dreyfus Alfred Dreyfus (9 October 1859 – 12 July 1935) was a French Army officer best known for his central role in the Dreyfus affair. In 1894, Dreyfus fell victim to a judicial conspiracy that eventually sparked a major political crisis in the Fre ...
, en route to the penal colony of
Devil's Island The penal colony of Cayenne ( French: ''Bagne de Cayenne''), commonly known as Devil's Island (''ÃŽle du Diable''), was a French penal colony that operated for 100 years, from 1852 to 1952, and officially closed in 1953, in the Salvation Islan ...
after his conviction for treason. The old city of Saint-Martin, within the walls of the citadel, was added in 2008 to the
World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...
list, along with 11 others Fortifications of Vauban across
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. During World War II, the beaches of the Île de Ré were fortified by German forces with
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
s, in order to block a possible seaward invasion. Many of the bunkers are still visible, in a more or less derelict state. Several scenes of the 1962 movie '' The Longest Day'' were filmed on the beaches of the island.


Connection to the mainland

In 1987, a
bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...
was built to connect the island to the mainland. Previously, the island was connected through
roll-on roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or usi ...
ferries (called "''bacs''"), which could accommodate vehicles and passengers. In peak summer time periods, the waiting time to board a ferry could reach several hours. The bridge was built by
Bouygues Bouygues S.A. () is a French engineering group headquartered in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement of Paris, France. Bouygues is listed on the Euronext, Euronext Paris exchange and is a blue chip (stock market), blue chip in the ...
. Since then, tourism on the island has developed considerably, with real estate prices reaching high levels. The easier transportation system has stimulated the purchase of holiday homes by people from as far as Paris, who can visit for week-ends, mostly in spring and summer. Using the bridge requires the payment of a toll (either €8 or €16 return for a normal car depending on the season) and makes it the most expensive road to use per kilometre in France. The
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
-
La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') 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 Departments of France, department. Wi ...
high-speed train ( TGV) trip takes around three hours, and then taxis or buses can be taken to the island. Île de Ré can also be reached from Paris by plane. It takes 85 minutes to fly from Paris to La Rochelle airport. After the
TF1 TF1 (; standing for ''Télévision Française 1'') is a French commercial television network owned by TF1 Group, controlled by the Bouygues conglomerate. TF1's average market share of 24% makes it the most popular domestic network. TF1 is part ...
channel was purchased by Bouygues, the talk-show ''Droit de réponse'' (Right to reply), shown on prime-time Saturday evening by Michel Polac was suppressed after criticizing this bridge.


Life

The area is a popular
tourist Tourism is travel for pleasure, and the commercial activity of providing and supporting such travel. UN Tourism defines tourism more generally, in terms which go "beyond the common perception of tourism as being limited to holiday activity on ...
destination. It has approximately the same number of hours of sunshine as the southern coast of France. The island has a constant light breeze, and the water temperature is generally cool. The island is surrounded by sandy beaches. The island has a year-round resident population of approximately 17,650 residents and a summer resident population of about 220,000. The island has a network of cycle tracks, with many residents rarely using cars for transportation. American celebrities, including
Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Johnny Depp, multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award as well as nominations for ...
,
Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...
, and British actor
Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...
, have holidayed there. Visiting French celebrities include
Charles Aznavour Charles Aznavour ( ; ; ; born Shahnur Vaghinak Aznavourian; 22 May 1924 – 1 October 2018) was a Armenians in France, French singer and songwriter of Armenian descent. Aznavour was known for his distinctive vibrato tenor voice: clear and ringi ...
, Claude Nougaro,
Bernard Giraudeau Bernard René Giraudeau (18 June 1947 – 17 July 2010) was a French sailor, actor, film director, scriptwriter, producer and writer. Early life He was born on 18 June 1947 in La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime. In 1963 he enlisted in the French na ...
, Claude Rich, Carole Bouquet, Philippe Sollers, and Caroline of Monaco. French politicians, including Jean Monnet and ex-Prime Minister
Lionel Jospin Lionel Robert Jospin (; born 12 July 1937) is a French politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 1997 to 2002. Jospin was First Secretary of the French Socialist Party, First Secretary of the Socialist Party from 1995 to 1997 and th ...
, have lived on the island.
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 no ...
s and fresh fish are caught year-round. A tradition sees fishermen sell a small quantity of their catch directly on the quays after a harvest, enabling them to buy a drink. Markets are open in the main towns. The island is known for donkeys wearing (trousers), originally a bite prevention method but now a tourist attraction.


Miscellaneous

Nearby Fort Boyard, a Napoleonic maritime fort, is currently used for a television
game show A game show (or gameshow) is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment where contestants compete in a game for rewards. The shows are typically directed by a game show host, host, who explains the rules of the program as well as commentating a ...
series of the same name. Île de Ré is one of the few locations in the world where cross seas produce a square grid of waves.


Media

Ré à la Hune is a free information newspaper and website founded in 2007.


See also

* Ernest Cognacq Museum * * Cross sea


Gallery

File:Ile de re satellite.png, Satellite view of the island File:Soubise 12 15 Septembre 1625.jpg, Capture of Île de Ré by Charles, Duke of Guise on September 16, 1625. File:Pont-Île-de-Ré_1.jpg, Île de Ré bridge from
Sablanceau Sablanceau (anciently Saint-Blanceau) is a beach at the easternmost end of the island of Île de Ré in western France. Sablanceau belongs to the Communes of France, commune of Rivedoux-Plage. English landing (1627) On 12 July 1627, an England, ...
/
Rivedoux-Plage Rivedoux-Plage () is a Communes of France, commune in the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department in southwestern France. It is situated on the Île de Ré. The commune includes the beach of Sablanceau. People who live on the island ...
. File:Baleines_04.jpg, The ''Phares des Baleines'' lighthouse. File:Salz_01.JPG, Salt fields in Loix-en-Ré File:GermanBunker.JPG, A WWII German
bunker A bunker is a defensive military fortification designed to protect people and valued materials from falling bombs, artillery, or other attacks. Bunkers are almost always underground, in contrast to blockhouses which are mostly above ground. T ...
on a beach in Île de Ré (Plage des Quatre Sergents). File:Jielbeaumadier ane de provence culotte st-martin-de-re 2013.jpeg, ''Âne en culotte'' donkey at Saint-Martin-de-Ré. File:Conchedesbaleinesiledere.jpg, German bunkers in the northern part of the island (Conche des Baleines). File:Carte-ile-de-re.png, Map of the island File:Ré SPOT 1156.jpg, The island photographed by the Spot-5 satellite File:Le Phare de la Baleine.jpg, Le Phare des Baleines


References


Sources

*Collins, Roger. "The ''Vaccaei'', the ''Vaceti'', and the rise of ''Vasconia''". ''Studia Historica VI''. Salamanca, 1988. Reprinted in Roger Collins, ''Law, Culture and Regionalism in Early Medieval Spain''. Variorum, 1992. .


External links


Official Website of the Tourist Office



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