Mayenne

Mayenne (French: [majɛn] ^ⓘ) is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and Ille-et-Vilaine.

Mayenne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. The northern two thirds correspond to the western part of the former province of Maine. The southern third of Mayenne corresponds to the northern portion of the old province of Anjou. The inhabitants of the department are called Mayennais. It had a population of 307,062 in 2019.^[3]

History

Like 82 other departments, Mayenne was created on 4 March 1790 during the early stages of the French Revolution by order of the National Constituent Assembly. The new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. The former province of Maine was partitioned into two, Upper Maine, centred on Le Mans, became the new department of Sarthe, and Lower Maine, centred on Laval became the new department of Mayenne. Anjou, to the south, being too big to form a single department, was reduced in size and became Maine-et-Loire. In this partition, Sarthe received the region of La Flèche, and Mayenne received Château-Gontier and Craon. Flax was a feature of the Mayenne economy, and the southern limit for the cultivation of flax was used to determine the new border between Mayenne and Maine-et-Loire.

The American first army's 90th Infantry Division were tasked with capturing the town in 1944.^[4]

Geography

Mayenne is a department in northwestern France and is part of the region of

The department is varied in topography. Much of it is largely flat, but there are also hilly areas, some with steep-sided valleys and ravines. Of the total area of 516,189 hectares (1,275,532 acres), some 354,000 hectares (875,000 acres) are arable, 69,000 hectares (170,000 acres) are grassland, 26,000 hectares (65,000 acres) are forests and woodland and 50,000 acres (20,200 ha) are heathland and moorland.^[6] To the north lies the Armorican Massif, a plateau that has been eroded over time, the highest summit of which, the Mont des Avaloirs, is the highest point in the department at 417 m (1,368 ft) above sea level. A branch range to the south of this plateau forms the ridge that divides the Mayenne Valley from the Vilaine Valley.^[6]

The department is subdivided into three arrondissements: Mayenne, Laval, and Château-Gontier; and is coincident with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Laval.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Laval, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 7,000 inhabitants:^[3]

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 305,654 —     1806 332,253 +1.68% 1821 343,819 +0.23% 1831 352,586 +0.25% 1841 361,392 +0.25% 1851 374,566 +0.36% 1861 375,163 +0.02% 1872 350,637 −0.61% 1881 344,881 −0.18% 1891 332,387 −0.37% 1901 313,103 −0.60% 1911 297,732 −0.50% 1921 262,447 −1.25%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1931 254,479 −0.31% 1936 251,348 −0.25% 1946 256,317 +0.20% 1954 251,522 −0.24% 1962 250,030 −0.07% 1968 252,762 +0.18% 1975 261,789 +0.50% 1982 271,784 +0.54% 1990 278,037 +0.28% 1999 285,338 +0.29% 2006 299,000 +0.67% 2011 307,031 +0.53% 2016 307,688 +0.04%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Sources:[7][8]

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Olivier Richefou, elected in 2014.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Flora and fauna

Mayenne has a diversity of habitat types such as forest, heathland, bog and farmland. Some 1445 species of plants, 63 species of mammals, 280 species of birds, 16 species of amphibians and 11 species of reptiles have been recorded, as well as thousands of species of invertebrates. The peat-lands and bogs are often fringed with woodlands of alder and ash, and in some places carnivorous plants such as

The woodlands are mostly small with the deciduous trees dominated by oak. Here roe deer, badger, fire salamander, Aesculapian snake, middle spotted woodpecker, little owl and white admiral can be found and uncommon plants present including European columbine and wild russet apple.^[13]

The dry grasslands, which cover the limestone and sandstone soils, are also rich in fauna and flora. They house the snake

Economy

The department is largely rural with about 80% being used for agriculture, 8% being urban area and the remainder forest, heath and plantations.[14] Livestock farming predominates, with the breeding of cattle, horses and pigs, and also bee-keeping being important.^[15] The soil is generally poor, but it is of better quality around Laval and Château-Gontier. In these parts corn is cultivated and there are plantings of hemp, flax, fruits and vines. There are many apple orchards and large quantities of cider are made.^[6] The department is rich in mineral resources; iron and coal are mined and there are quarries for marble, slate, building stone, limestone and flint; the white sand deposits are used in the manufacture of glass.^[6]

Industries include the manufacture of linen, paper and hemp, and cider-making is traditionally carried on in the department.^[15] Office furniture is manufactured in Château-Gontier,^[16] and Laval is active in the industrial sector, with dairy products, electronics and chemicals in a modern science park.

Tourism

• 
  Laval
• 
  View from the Armorican Massif
• 
  Abbey in Château-Gontier
• 
  Château de Sainte-Suzanne
• 
  Chateau de Lassay

See also

• Cantons of the Mayenne department
• Communes of the Mayenne department
• Arrondissements of the Mayenne department
• Duke of Mayenne
• Departmental Council of Mayenne
• Jublains archeological site

References

1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
2. ^ "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. ^ ^{a b} Populations légales 2019: 53 Mayenne, INSEE
4. ^ Schama, Simon (1989). Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Knopf.
5. ISBN 0-540-05278-7
   .
6. ^ ^{a b c d} Comprehensive Dictionary of the World. Mittal Publications. 1992. pp. 806–807. GGKEY:RC6C27C4NE1.
7. ^ "Historique de la Mayenne". Le SPLAF.
8. ^ "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
9. ^ "Les résultats du second tour de l'élection présidentielle". 19 April 2022.
10. ^ ^{a b} "Présidentielles".
11. ^ "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle de 1995 par département - Politiquemania".
12. ^ Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
13. ^ ^{a b c} "Exposition: "La Biodiversité en Mayenne"" (in French). Mayenne Nature Environnement. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
14. ^ "Le contexte Meyennais" (PDF) (in French). Préfecture de la Mayenne. 2009. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 October 2022. Retrieved 24 September 2015.
15. ^ ^{a b} Bozman, E.F. (1966). Everyman's Encyclopaedia: Volume 8. J.M. Dent and Sons. p. 301.
16. ^ Weiler, Nolwenn (25 January 2015). "En Mayenne, des salariés sauvent leur entreprise de la faillite". Basta ! (in French). Basta!. Retrieved 24 September 2015.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mayenne.

• (in French) Prefecture website
• (in French) Departmental council website