Seine-Maritime () is a

department of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the Regions of France, administrative regions a ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

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 ...

of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, and includes the cities of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

and

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inférieure. It had a population of 1,255,633 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 76 Seine-Maritime
INSEE

History

;1790 - Creation of the Seine-Inférieure department :The department was created from part of the old province of

during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790, through the application of a law of 22 December 1789. ;1815 - Occupation :After the victory at Waterloo of the coalition armies, the department was occupied by

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

forces In physics, a force is an influence that can cause an object to change its velocity unless counterbalanced by other forces. In mechanics, force makes ideas like 'pushing' or 'pulling' mathematically precise. Because the magnitude and directi ...

from June 1815 till November 1818. ;1843 – Railways and industry :In Rouen, Elbeuf, and Bolbec, the number of textile factories is increasing. Metallurgy and naval construction as well. ;1851 - A republican department :Following President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 Coup d'état, Seine-Inférieure was one of several departments placed under a state of emergency (literally, in French, ''

state of siege ''State of Siege'' () is a 1972 French–Italian–West German political thriller film directed by Costa-Gavras starring Yves Montand and Renato Salvatori. The story is based on an actual incident in 1970, when U.S. official Dan Mitrione was k ...

)'' following fears of significant resistance to the new government. ;

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

:In 1942, during occupation by

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...

, two Allied raids, the Bruneval and

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

, took place at towns of the channel coast of Seine-Inférieure. ;1955 - Rename to Seine-Maritime In 1955, the department's name was officially changed to Seine-Maritime.

Heraldry

Geography

The department can be split into three main areas: * The Seine valley. The Seine flows through the provincial capital

. * The chalk plateau

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French '' département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cl ...

, with its abrupt coastline (the Alabaster Coast). * The Norman

Pays de Bray The Pays de Bray (, literally ''Land of Bray'') is a small (about 750 km2) natural region of France situated to the north-east of Rouen, straddling the French departments of the Seine-Maritime and the Oise (historically divided among the Pr ...

, with its hills and

bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of northern France, southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands, northern Spain and northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ' ...

landscape.

Administration

The département was created in 1790 as Seine-Inférieure, one of five departements that replaced the former

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

. In 1800 five arrondissements were created within the département, namely

, Neufchatel and Yvetot, although the latter two were disbanded in 1926. On 18 January 1955 the name of the département was changed to Seine-Maritime, in order to provide a more positive-sounding name and in-keeping with changes made in a number of other French departements.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

; the prefecture

is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

Previously lacking a demonym, the inhabitants of Seine-Maritime (as the department had been renamed in 1955) chose, following a public consultation, to be identified in official documents as "Seinomarins" (males) and "Seinomarines" (females).

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Bertrand Bellanger, elected in 2019.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Transport

In 1843 the railway from

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 ...

reached the region. The département is connected to the adjacent

Eure Eure ( ; ; or ) is a department in the administrative region of Normandy, northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2021, Eure had a population of 598,934.Tancarville and

Pont de Normandie The ''Pont de Normandie'' () is a cable-stayed road bridge that spans the river Seine linking Le Havre to Honfleur in Normandy, northern France. Its total length is – between the two piers. It is also the last bridge to cross the Seine before ...

bridge crossings of the

Culture

Madame Bovary ''Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners'' (; ), commonly known as simply ''Madame Bovary'', is the début novel by France, French writer Gustave Flaubert, originally published in 1856 and 1857. The eponymous character, Emma Bovary, lives beyond he ...

'' by

Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , ; ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. He has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country and abroad. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flaubert, realis ...

is set in Seine Maritime. The novel ''La Place'' by Annie Ernaux largely takes place in Seine-Maritime and describes events and changes that take place in relation to French society in the 20th century especially in relation to the rural population. The first story of the long-running series ''

Valérian and Laureline ''Valérian and Laureline'' (), originally titled ''Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent'' () and also commonly known as ''Valérian'', is a French science fiction comics series, created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières. I ...

'' is set in Seine-Maritime, with the character Laureline originating from the area. Cauchois is the dialect of the Pays de Caux, and is one of the most vibrant forms of the

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, , Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a ''Langues d'oïl, langue d'oïl'' spoken in the historical region, historical and Cultural area, cultural region of Normandy. The name "Norman French" is sometimes also used to des ...

beyond

Cotentinais Cotentinais () is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in the Cotentin Peninsula of France. It is one of the strongest dialects of the language on the French mainland. Dialects Due to the relative lack of standardisation of Norman, there ...

Tourism

File:Rouen Cathedral as seen from Gros Horloge 140215 4.jpg, Notre-Dame of

File:Blockhaus Fécamp (3) 0018.JPG, Element of the

Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall () was an extensive system of coastal defence and fortification, coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defense (military), d ...

near Fécamp File:LeHavre.jpg, Entirely destroyed during

has been rebuilt in

modernist style Modern architecture, also called modernist architecture, or the modern movement, is an architectural movement and style that was prominent in the 20th century, between the earlier Art Deco and later postmodern movements. Modern architecture wa ...

File:L'Aiguille et la Porte d'Aval-Etretat-Normandie.jpg, Limestone cliffs of

Étretat Étretat () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy Regions of France, region of Northwestern France. It is a Tourism, tourist and Agriculture, far ...

File:Le Jardin jungle en normandie.jpg, the jardin jungle of Eu