Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
''), commonly referred to as Sablé, is a commune in the
Sarthe
Sarthe () is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the '' Grand-Ouest'' of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It ha ...
Pays de la Loire
Pays de la Loire (; but can also mean 'Lower Loire') is one of the eighteen administrative regions of France, located on the country's Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital an ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
, western
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 ...
. It is about 40 km southwest of
Le Mans
Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...
and about 50 km northeast of
Angers
Angers (, , ;) is a city in western France, about southwest of Paris. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Maine-et-Loire department and was the capital of the province of Duchy of Anjou, Anjou until the French Revolution. The i ...
.
Population
Geography
The
Vaige
The Vaige () is a long river in the Mayenne and Sarthe departments in western France.
This list is ordered from source to mouth:
*In Mayenne, the Vaige has its source in Saint-Léger then waters the following villages: Vaiges, Saint-Georges- ...
forms part of the commune's north-western border, flows southwards through the middle of the commune, then flows into the
Sarthe River
The Sarthe () is a river in western France. Together with the river Mayenne it forms the river Maine, which is a tributary to the river Loire.
Its source is in the Orne department, near Moulins-la-Marche. It flows generally southwest, through ...
in the town of Sablé-sur-Sarthe.
History
French prime minister
François Fillon
François Charles Amand Fillon (; born 4 March 1954) is a French retired politician who served as Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012 under President Nicolas Sarkozy. He was the nominee of The Republicans (previously known as the Union ...
was mayor of Sablé from 1983 to 2001, which therefore has a TGV station on the line from Paris-Nantes despite a relatively small population.
Tourism
The town is a hub for river cruising along the Sarthe. There is a festival of baroque music every August.
Industry
From 2010 to 2015, the motor car firm Venturi had a factory at Sablé-sur-Sarthe.