Loire-Atlantique

Loire-Atlantique (formerly Loire-Inférieure) is a département on the west coast of France named after the Loire River and the Atlantic Ocean.

History

Loire-Inférieure was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was renamed in 1957. It was originally part of Brittany, and contains what many people consider to be Brittany's capital, Nantes. There is a popular campaign to have it reintegrated in Brittany.

Geography

Loire-Atlantique is part of the current region of Pays-de-la-Loire and is surrounded by the départements of Morbihan, Ille-et-Vilaine, Maine-et-Loire, and Vendée, with the Atlantic on the west.

Culture

The Breton language is an important issue, with many supporting bilingual education.

This article is licenced under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Loire-Atlantique".