Couëron

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
Location of Couëron
Couëron Show map of France Couëron Show map of Pays de la Loire
Coordinates: 47°12′56″N 1°43′22″W
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Loire-Atlantique
Arrondissement	Nantes
Canton	Saint-Herblain-1
Intercommunality	Nantes Métropole
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Carole Grelaud[1]
Area 1	44.03 km2 (17.00 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	23,541
• Density	530/km2 (1,400/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	44047 /44220
Elevation	0–74 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.

History

Couëron has been suggested as a potential site for Greek trading city of Corbilo, mentioned by Pytheas, Polybius and Strabo.

Geography

Physical geography

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

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

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:

• Wexford, Ireland
• Fleurus, Belgium

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% 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%	Year Pop. ±% 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

• John Baptist Mary David (1761-1841), Bishop of Bardstown
• Francis II of Brittany (1433-1488), last Duke of Brittany, father of famous Duchess Anna of Brittany
• Thibault Quéré
• Alcide d'Orbigny (1802- 1857), French naturalist.
• Prudent-Louis Leray (1820–1879), French painter and lithographer

See also

• Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department