Ploudalmézeau

Ploudalmézeau (French pronunciation: [pludalmezo]; Breton: Gwitalmeze) is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France.

Ploudalmézeau Gwitalmeze
Commune
A view of the sea, at Portsall
Coat of arms
Location of Ploudalmézeau
Ploudalmézeau Show map of France Ploudalmézeau Show map of Brittany
Coordinates: 48°32′28″N 4°39′22″W
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Department	Finistère
Arrondissement	Brest
Canton	Plabennec
Intercommunality	Pays d'Iroise
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Marguerite Lamour[1]
Area 1	23.18 km2 (8.95 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	6,440
• Density	280/km2 (720/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	29178 /29830
Elevation	0–86 m (0–282 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

The village and port of Portsall is part of the commune. The Amoco Cadiz oil tanker ran aground off Portsall in 1978, causing a large crude oil spill.

Geography

Climate

Ploudalmézeau has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Ploudalmézeau is 11.9 °C (53.4 °F). The average annual rainfall is 1,006.4 mm (39.62 in) with November as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in August, at around 17.0 °C (62.6 °F), and lowest in January, at around 7.7 °C (45.9 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Ploudalmézeau was 38.7 °C (101.7 °F) on 18 July 2022; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −7.0 °C (19.4 °F) on 28 February 2018.

Climate data for Ploudalmézeau (1981–2010 averages, extremes 1998−present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	17.0 (62.6)	20.8 (69.4)	24.1 (75.4)	26.8 (80.2)	28.2 (82.8)	30.5 (86.9)	38.7 (101.7)	32.2 (90.0)	31.6 (88.9)	28.1 (82.6)	21.4 (70.5)	17.1 (62.8)	38.7 (101.7)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	9.9 (49.8)	10.3 (50.5)	11.8 (53.2)	13.3 (55.9)	15.9 (60.6)	18.6 (65.5)	20.1 (68.2)	20.5 (68.9)	19.2 (66.6)	16.2 (61.2)	12.6 (54.7)	10.2 (50.4)	14.9 (58.8)
Daily mean °C (°F)	7.7 (45.9)	7.8 (46.0)	8.9 (48.0)	10.1 (50.2)	12.8 (55.0)	15.1 (59.2)	16.7 (62.1)	17.0 (62.6)	15.6 (60.1)	13.3 (55.9)	10.3 (50.5)	7.8 (46.0)	11.9 (53.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	5.5 (41.9)	5.2 (41.4)	6.0 (42.8)	7.0 (44.6)	9.6 (49.3)	11.7 (53.1)	13.3 (55.9)	13.5 (56.3)	12.0 (53.6)	10.3 (50.5)	8.0 (46.4)	5.4 (41.7)	9.0 (48.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−5.0 (23.0)	−7.0 (19.4)	−2.2 (28.0)	−0.7 (30.7)	1.6 (34.9)	4.3 (39.7)	6.5 (43.7)	3.7 (38.7)	3.5 (38.3)	−0.3 (31.5)	−2.4 (27.7)	−4.4 (24.1)	−7.0 (19.4)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	112.1 (4.41)	82.1 (3.23)	74.4 (2.93)	86.7 (3.41)	65.5 (2.58)	48.4 (1.91)	72.4 (2.85)	59.6 (2.35)	61.3 (2.41)	105.7 (4.16)	121.0 (4.76)	117.2 (4.61)	1,006.4 (39.62)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	15.8	13.1	12.9	13.3	10.5	8.5	11.4	9.1	9.2	15.5	17.0	17.5	153.6
Source: Meteociel[3]

International relations

Ploudalmézeau is twinned with Cullompton, Devon.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,701 —     1800 2,906 +1.05% 1806 2,738 −0.99% 1821 2,881 +0.34% 1831 3,023 +0.48% 1836 3,085 +0.41% 1841 3,209 +0.79% 1846 3,234 +0.16% 1851 3,219 −0.09% 1856 3,220 +0.01% 1861 3,267 +0.29% 1866 3,252 −0.09% 1872 3,148 −0.54% 1876 3,341 +1.50% 1881 3,240 −0.61% 1886 3,205 −0.22% 1891 3,286 +0.50% 1896 3,305 +0.12%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,436 +0.78% 1906 3,465 +0.17% 1911 3,725 +1.46% 1921 3,977 +0.66% 1926 3,946 −0.16% 1931 3,867 −0.40% 1936 3,802 −0.34% 1946 4,142 +0.86% 1954 4,177 +0.11% 1962 4,190 +0.04% 1968 4,297 +0.42% 1975 4,464 +0.55% 1982 4,771 +0.95% 1990 4,874 +0.27% 1999 4,994 +0.27% 2007 5,950 +2.21% 2012 6,275 +1.07% 2017 6,297 +0.07%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

Breton language

In 2008, 11.69% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, where Breton language is taught alongside French.^[6]

Amoco Cadiz oil spill

Amoco Cadiz anchor in Portsall

On 16 March 1978, Amoco Cadiz, a very large crude carrier (VLCC), owned by Amoco, split in three after running aground on Portsall Rocks, 5 km (3.1 mi) from the coast of Portsall, resulting in the largest oil spill of its kind in history to that date.^[7]

See also

• Communes of the Finistère department