Couëron (French: [kwɛʁɔ̃] ; Gallo: Coéron or Couéron, Breton: Koeron) is a commune in the Loire-Atlantique department in western France. It is part of the historic French Brittany.

Couëron
Coéron/Couéron (Gallo)
Koeron (Breton)
Commune
Port on the Loire
Port on the Loire
Location of Couëron
Map
Couëron is located in France
Couëron
Couëron
Couëron is located in Pays de la Loire
Couëron
Couëron
Coordinates: 47°12′56″N 1°43′22″W / 47.2156°N 1.7228°W / 47.2156; -1.7228
CountryFrance
RegionPays de la Loire
DepartmentLoire-Atlantique
ArrondissementNantes
CantonSaint-Herblain-1
IntercommunalityNantes Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Carole Grelaud[1]
Area
1
44.03 km2 (17.00 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
23,057
 • Density520/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
44047 /44220
Elevation0–74 m (0–243 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Couëron is one of the 24 communes of the Nantes Métropole.

Geography

edit

Physical geography

edit
 
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 Nantes Métropole (8th most populous across France) and the "espace urbain" of Nantes-Saint-Nazaire.

Human geography

edit

For many years the city was the location of the Usine Pontgibaud-Tréfimétaux, which manufactured non-ferrous metal products.

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

edit

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 was re-elected with 100% of the vote 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).[3]

Couëron is twinned with the following places:

Population

edit
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 3,834—    
1800 3,273−2.23%
1806 3,735+2.23%
1821 4,062+0.56%
1831 4,053−0.02%
1841 4,214+0.39%
1846 4,522+1.42%
1851 4,338−0.83%
1856 4,493+0.70%
1861 4,709+0.94%
1866 4,508−0.87%
1872 4,450−0.22%
1876 4,343−0.61%
1881 4,841+2.19%
1886 4,942+0.41%
1891 5,377+1.70%
1896 5,947+2.04%
1901 6,005+0.19%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 5,862−0.48%
1911 6,055+0.65%
1921 6,293+0.39%
1926 8,271+5.62%
1931 8,627+0.85%
1936 8,886+0.59%
1946 9,954+1.14%
1954 11,092+1.36%
1962 11,641+0.61%
1968 12,276+0.89%
1975 13,273+1.12%
1982 14,113+0.88%
1990 16,319+1.83%
1999 17,808+0.97%
2007 18,392+0.40%
2012 19,765+1.45%
2017 21,372+1.58%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

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 fled the civil war in Spain.

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%).

Personalities

edit

See also

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 1 February 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Résultats Couëron - Législatives 2017 - 2nd et 1er tour". Le Monde.fr.
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Couëron, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
edit