Couëron

Couëron
Le port sur la Loire. Le port sur la Loire.
Couëron
Location within Pays de la Loire region Couëron
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Nantes
Canton	Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc
Intercommunality	Nantes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Pierre Fougerat
Area1	44.03 km2 (17.00 sq mi)
Population (2010)2	18,591
• Density	420/km2 (1,100/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	44047 / 44220
Elevation	0–74 m (0–243 ft)
Website	http://www.ville-coueron.fr/
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Couëron (Breton: Koeron) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is part of the historic French Britanny.

Couëron is one of the 24 communes of the Urban Community of Nantes.

Geography

Physical geography

File:Location Couëron.svg

Location of Couëron in the département of Loire-Atlantique

Couëron is located 10 miles (16 km) west of Nantes, on the North bank of the French longest river, the Loire.

The town is bordered by the towns of Sautron and Vigneux-de-Bretagne to the north ; Saint-Étienne-de-Montluc to the west ; Indre to the east ; Le Pellerin and Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau to the south.

It is one of the 19 towns of the agglomeration of Nantes, therefore it is part of the Urban Community of Nantes (8th most populous across France) and the "espace urbain" of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire.

Human geography

Couëron's public transportation is provided by the TAN. There are four bus lines :

• line 91
• line 84
• night line J
• line Express' Couëron Town Hall - Gare maritime

The city is also accessed by a railway station (only regional journey) and a ferry which crosses the Loire so as to join the Pellerin.

The city is divided into two distinct sectors :

• Couëron downtown
• La Chabossière, a more recent borough that is nearer to Nantes.

Administration

The current mayor of Couëron is Jean-Pierre Fougerat (PS) until 2014. The municipal council has been led by a left-wing coalition since 1995. In 2008, it has been re-elected with 100% of the votes since there was no opposition.

Couëron's inhabitants massively vote for left parties in presidential and legislative elections. In the 2012 presidential election, François Hollande (PS) received an astonishing 68.83% of the vote in the second round against then-President, Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP).

Couëron is twinned with the following places:

• Wexford, Ireland
• Fleurus, Belgium

Demography

Couëron is one of the most cosmopolitan towns of Loire-Atlantique. This is mainly due to an important Polish community that immigrated in the early 1930s, and the presence of many people of Spanish ancestry that flew the civil war in Spain.

The latest census data show that the town has 18,591 inhabitants (2010), what makes Couëron the sixth most populous city of Loire-Atlantique. What is more, the population is to increase rapidly and to pass the 20,000 inhabitants mark thanks to a vast project of residential construction.

The population of Couëron is younger than the national average. The proportion of people above 60 years old is lower than in France (19.6% vs. 22.7%).

Born in Couëron

• John Baptist Mary David (1761-1841), Bishop of Bardstown
• Francis II of Britanny (1433-1488), last Duke of Britanny, father of famous Duchess Anna of Britanny
• Thibault Quéré, wealthy businessman
• Alcide d'Orbigny (1802- 1857), French naturalist.

See also

• Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department

External links

• Official website (in French)