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Mayenne
Department
Prefecture building of the Mayenne department, in Laval
FlagCoat of arms
Location of Mayenne in France
Coordinates: 48°10′N 0°40′W / 48.167°N 0.667°W / 48.167; -0.667
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Laval
Subprefectures	Château-Gontier-sur-Mayenne Mayenne
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Olivier Richefou
Area
• Total	5,175 km (1,998 sq mi)
Population
• Total	305,933
• Rank	75th
• Density	59/km (150/sq mi)
Demonyms	Mayennais, Mayennaise
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	53
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	17
Communes	242
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km

Mayenne (French: [majɛn] mah-yen) 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.

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.

Geography

Mayenne is a department in northwestern France and is part of the region of Pays de la Loire. The department does not have a sea coast, but about thirty kilometres to the northwest is Mont Saint-Michel Bay. The capital and largest town is Laval in the centre of the department. To the north lies the department of Orne, to the east lies Sarthe, to the south lies Maine-et-Loire, to the west lies Ille-et-Vilaine and to the northwest lies Manche. The department forms a roughly rectangular shape, being 90 km (56 mi) long by 77 km (48 mi) wide, with a total area of about 5,175 km (1,998 sq mi). The river Mayenne flows centrally through it from north to south, passing through the towns of Mayenne, Laval and Château-Gontier. After leaving the department, the river joins the river Sarthe to form the Maine which later joins the Loire.

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. 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.

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:

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. Updates on reimplementing the Graph extension, which will be known as the Chart extension, can be found on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Sources:

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 sundew and butterwort flourish, fritillaries, marsh cinquefoil and cottongrass grow and butterflies, dragonflies and spiders abound.

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.

The dry grasslands, which cover the limestone and sandstone soils, are also rich in fauna and flora. They house the snake Vipera aspis, the Large blue butterfly, the blue-winged grasshopper and the bee orchid. The heathland in the north of Mayenne is populated by dwarf gorse and cross-leaved heath and there are plenty of spiders, nightjars and warblers. The old quarries are the refuge of bats, amphibians, the shining cranesbill and greater butterfly orchid. Rivers and ponds are home to eel, northern crested newt, European otter, kingfisher, grass snake, common moorhen and plants such as spearwort, yellow flag, arrowhead and Isopyrum thalictroides, a small poisonous plant.

Economy

The department is largely rural with about 80% being used for agriculture, 8% being urban area and the remainder forest, heath and plantations. Livestock farming predominates, with the breeding of cattle, horses and pigs, and also bee-keeping being important. 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. 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.

Industries include the manufacture of linen, paper and hemp, and cider-making is traditionally carried on in the department. Office furniture is manufactured in Château-Gontier, 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" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
3. ^ Populations légales 2019: 53 Mayenne, INSEE
4. Schama, Simon (1989). Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution. New York: Knopf.
5. Philips' Modern School Atlas. George Philip and Son, Ltd. 1973. pp. 42–43. ISBN 0-540-05278-7.
6. ^ 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. ^ "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. ^ "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. ^ 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

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

v t e Departments of France
Metropolitan	01 Ain 02 Aisne 03 Allier 04 Alpes-de-Haute-Provence 05 Hautes-Alpes 06 Alpes-Maritimes 07 Ardèche 08 Ardennes 09 Ariège 10 Aube 11 Aude 12 Aveyron 13 Bouches-du-Rhône 14 Calvados 15 Cantal 16 Charente 17 Charente-Maritime 18 Cher 19 Corrèze 2A Corse-du-Sud 2B Haute-Corse 21 Côte-d'Or 22 Côtes-d'Armor 23 Creuse 24 Dordogne 25 Doubs 26 Drôme 27 Eure 28 Eure-et-Loir 29 Finistère 30 Gard 31 Haute-Garonne 32 Gers 33 Gironde 34 Hérault 35 Ille-et-Vilaine 36 Indre 37 Indre-et-Loire 38 Isère 39 Jura 40 Landes 41 Loir-et-Cher 42 Loire 43 Haute-Loire 44 Loire-Atlantique 45 Loiret 46 Lot 47 Lot-et-Garonne 48 Lozère 49 Maine-et-Loire 50 Manche 51 Marne 52 Haute-Marne 53 Mayenne 54 Meurthe-et-Moselle 55 Meuse 56 Morbihan 57 Moselle 58 Nièvre 59 Nord 60 Oise 61 Orne 62 Pas-de-Calais 63 Puy-de-Dôme 64 Pyrénées-Atlantiques 65 Hautes-Pyrénées 66 Pyrénées-Orientales 67 Bas-Rhin 68 Haut-Rhin 69D Rhône 70 Haute-Saône 71 Saône-et-Loire 72 Sarthe 73 Savoie 74 Haute-Savoie 76 Seine-Maritime 77 Seine-et-Marne 78 Yvelines 79 Deux-Sèvres 80 Somme 81 Tarn 82 Tarn-et-Garonne 83 Var 84 Vaucluse 85 Vendée 86 Vienne 87 Haute-Vienne 88 Vosges 89 Yonne 90 Territoire de Belfort 91 Essonne 92 Hauts-de-Seine 93 Seine-Saint-Denis 94 Val-de-Marne 95 Val-d'Oise
Overseas	971 Guadeloupe 972 Martinique (territorial collectivity) 973 French Guiana (territorial collectivity) 974 Réunion 976 Mayotte
Special	69M Lyon (collectivity with special status) 75 Paris (collectivity with special status)
Former	975 Saint Pierre and Miquelon (Overseas collectivity)

• Mayenne
• 1790 establishments in France
• Departments of Pays de la Loire
• States and territories established in 1790