La Flotte
Commune
The harbour in La Flotte
The harbour in La Flotte
Coat of arms of La Flotte
Coat of arms
Location of La Flotte
La Flotte is located in France
La Flotte
La Flotte
La Flotte is located in Nouvelle-Aquitaine
La Flotte
La Flotte
Coordinates: 46°11′16″N 1°19′28″W / 46.1878°N 1.3244°W / 46.1878; -1.3244
CountryFrance
RegionNouvelle-Aquitaine
DepartmentCharente-Maritime
ArrondissementLa Rochelle
CantonÎle de Ré
IntercommunalityÎle de Ré
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean-Paul Heraudeau[1]
Area
1
12.32 km2 (4.76 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2021)[2]
3,017
 • Density240/km2 (630/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Flottais, Flottaises
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
17161 /17630
Elevation0–17 m (0–56 ft)
(avg. 8 m or 26 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

La Flotte (French pronunciation: [la flɔt]; sometimes locally La Flotte-en-Re), is a commune on the isle of Ré off the western coast of France, administratively part of the department of Charente-Maritime within the larger Nouvelle-Aquitaine region.[3]

It is the largest municipality on the Île de Ré by area, and the second largest by population, second to Sainte-Marie-de-Ré on the southern tip of the island.

La Flotte was declared one of the most beautiful villages in France by the eponymous independent tourism organization Les Plus Beaux Villages de France, and since 2011, the town has been a part of the departmental government's "Stone and Water Villages" tourism initiative to promote notable coastal and waterfront locales (i.e., where the stone (city) meets the water (sea, river etc.).

Geography

Town planning

The commune of La Flotte contains the town proper and a marina. La Flotte is an urban municipality, part of the urban unit of La Flotte, which also contains the commune of Saint-Martin-de-Ré.[4] In addition, the municipality is part of the attraction area of La Flotte, covering 4 communes.[3]

Coastline

The shoreline of La Flotte is bordered by small cliffs, and is home to Arnéult Beach, an artificial beach that has to be re-sanded each year.

As it is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean, La Flotte is a coastal municipality as defined by the Coastline Act (1986).[5] As a result specific town planning provisions apply in order to preserve the natural spaces, sites, landscapes and the ecological balance of the coast, including a prohibition on construction along the coastline.[6]

Land use

A sizable amount of the land in La Flotte is agricultural, 47% in 2018, down from 55.1% in 1990. The detailed breakdown in 2018 is as follows: forests (34.3%), permanent crops (18.3%), urbanized areas (17.9%), heterogeneous agricultural areas (15.9%), arable land (9.1%), meadows (3.7%), artificial green spaces, non-agricultural (0.5%), coastal wetlands (0.4%).[7]

Economic activity

  • Agriculture, asparagus, potatoes, vine.
  • Oyster farming, boating, fishing.
  • Tourism. Accommodation: six hotels, five campsites, guest houses, seasonal rentals.

History

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. After three months of siege, the Marquis de Toiras and a relief force of French ships and troops managed to repel the Duke, who was forced to withdraw in defeat.[8] The English lost more than 4,000 out of 7,000 troops during the campaign. After repelling the English assault, the French Guards retreated through the town of La Flotte, and burned three English vessels there in the port and returned to Fort La Prée.

La Flotte was the home of Gustave Dechézeaux (1760-1794), a member of the National Convention. A victim of the Reign of Terror, he was guillotined at Rochefort on January 17, 1794 for his vote against the execution of Louis XVI.[9] He was later given a posthumous pardon by the Convention on May 3, 1795.[10]

Government

Mayors

List of mayors
Term Name Occupation
1790 1791 Jean Henry-Laine nobility
1791 1793 N J. Brizard-Durocq merchant
1793 1793 Porsain Coursolle merchant
1793 1794 Joshua Sibille nobility
1794 1796 Hibry merchant
1796 1802 Jacques Louis Rateau merchant
1802 1805 Jean Pierre Derame merchant
1805 1814 Pierre Valleau merchant
1815 1825 Jean Pierre Derame merchant
1826 1833 John Hector Lem landlord
1834 1837 JJ Margotteau merchant
1837 1852 Adrian Ponsin doctor
1852 1855 Charles Villeneau landlord
1855 1855* Francois Maurice Gaussens merchant
1855 1869 Sebastien Sibille-Lavertu notary
1869 1870 ** Jean Emile Fourgnaud doctor
1869 1870 ** Marc Brin merchant
1869 1870 ** Etienne Margotteau merchant
1870 1870 ** Charles Biret notary
1870 1871 Jean Emile Fourgnaud doctor
1871 1877 Aimed Napoleon Bos draper
1877 1878 Charles Biret notary
1878 1882 Aimed Napoleon Bos draper
1882 1896 Camille Mague landlord
1896 1928 Charles Biret notary
1928 1935 Aristide Guignier farmer
1935 Gaston Lem
1947 1952 Eugene Chauffour trader
1952 1959 Pierre Brochard retired officer
1959 1971 Guy Margotteau retired director of overseas France
1971 1977 Raymond Poncet oyster farmer
1977 2020 Leon Gendre hotelier, retired restaurateur, former general councilor
2020 Present Jean-Paul Héraudeau
* For 1855, municipal councilor acting as mayor.
** For the year 1870, from 21st of October to July, (Fourgnaud, Brin, Margotteau, Biret) municipal commission

2008 municipal elections

1st round of 2008 elections
List driven by Number of applicants % Voice (average of lists) Elected
Leon Gendre 23 52.6% 1059 23
Jean-Paul Héraudeau 23 47.4% 953

2001 municipal elections

1st round of the 2001 election
List driven by Number of applicants % Voice (average of lists) Elected
Leon Gendre 23 100.0% 1188 23

1995 municipal elections

1st round of 1995 elections
List driven by Number of applicants % Voice (average of lists) Elected
Leon Gendre 23 52.0% 824 15
Raymond Grassineau 23 48.0% 760 8

1989 municipal elections

1st round of 1989 elections
List driven by Number of applicants % Voice (average of lists) Elected
Leon Gendre 49.4% 735
James roy 27.0% 402
Menanteau 23.6% 350

Demographics

In 2018, the town had 2,759 inhabitants, down 4.8% compared to 2013 (Charente-Maritime: + 2.13%, France excluding Mayotte: +1.78%).

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 4,400—    
1800 3,322−3.94%
1806 2,847−2.54%
1821 2,556−0.72%
1831 2,557+0.00%
1836 2,411−1.17%
1841 2,429+0.15%
1846 2,462+0.27%
1851 2,422−0.33%
1856 2,352−0.58%
1861 2,386+0.29%
1866 2,450+0.53%
1872 2,315−0.94%
1876 2,395+0.85%
1881 2,389−0.05%
1886 2,381−0.07%
1891 2,447+0.55%
1896 2,373−0.61%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 2,267−0.91%
1906 2,096−1.56%
1911 2,118+0.21%
1921 1,813−1.54%
1926 1,629−2.12%
1931 1,475−1.97%
1936 1,396−1.09%
1946 1,260−1.02%
1954 1,393+1.26%
1962 1,578+1.57%
1968 1,681+1.06%
1975 1,737+0.47%
1982 1,878+1.12%
1990 2,452+3.39%
1999 2,737+1.23%
2007 2,923+0.83%
2012 2,863−0.41%
2017 2,762−0.72%
Source: EHESS[11] and INSEE (1968-2017)[12]

Culture and heritage

Places and monuments

  • The Port: formerly a commercial port for wine and salt, then a fishing port. It is essentially a marina today. Its capacity is 200 berths on pontoons and 150 berths in organized moorings.
  • The ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Ré (between Rivedoux-Plage and La Flotte). The site has been classified as a “historic monument” since May 21, 1990.
  • The Fort La Pree, built in 1625 and partially destroyed by Vauban in 1685.
  • The Medieval Market.
  • The Platin Museum, which has collections related to regional culture, Medieval architecture, and maritime history.[13]
  • The Church of St. Catherine Fleet (or "Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria") Built in the 15th century. Listed, in part, as a Historic Monument, in 1988.

Heraldry

Coat of Arms of La Flotte

Notable people

  • Nicolas Martiau (1591-1657), Huguenot settler, ancestor of George Washington and Robert E. Lee.
  • Denis Goguet (1704-1778), merchant and shipowner
  • Gustave Dechézeaux (1760-1794), French politician. Member of the National Convention, guillotined in 1794 during the Reign of Terror "for having conspired against the Republic", then posthumously pardoned in 1795.
  • Jacques Gilles Henri Goguet (1767-1794), General
  • Léon Gendre, general councilor of the canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (reelected in 2011), president of the Community of communes of the island of Ré from 1993 to 2008, mayor of La Flotte since 1977, ex-restaurateur (creator of the restaurant Le Richelieu).
  • Roger Barberot (1915-2002) - Companion of the Liberation by decree of March 7, 1941, the most decorated sailor in France.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 9 August 2021.
  2. ↑ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. 1 2 Commune de La Flotte (17161), INSEE
  4. ↑ Unité urbaine 2020 de la Flotte (17130), INSEE
  5. ↑ Loi n° 86-2 du 1986-01-03 The Coastline Act
  6. ↑ Bordereaux*, Laurent (10 September 2014). "Seashore Law: The Core of French Public Maritime Law". The International Journal of Marine and Coastal Law. 29 (3): 402–414. doi:10.1163/15718085-12341312. ISSN 0927-3522.
  7. ↑ "CLC 2018 — Copernicus Land Monitoring Service". land.copernicus.eu. Retrieved 13 May 2023.
  8. ↑ Fissel, p.123
  9. ↑ Réveillaud, Eugène (1851-1935) Auteur du texte (1911). Histoire politique et parlementaire des départements de la Charente et de la Charente-Inférieure : de 1789 à 1830 / par Eug. Réveillaud,... pp. 362–70. Retrieved 13 May 2023.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  10. ↑ Ballard, Richard (2010). The Unseen Terror : The French Revolution in the Provinces. p. 105. ISBN 9781848853256.
  11. ↑ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet La Flotte, EHESS (in French).
  12. ↑ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  13. ↑ "Les collections". Musée du Platin (in French).
  • Media related to La Flotte at Wikimedia Commons
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