Marne (department)

Marne (Template:IPA) is a department in the Grand Est region of France. It is named after the river Marne which flows through it. The prefecture (capital) of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne). The subprefectures are Épernay, Reims, and Vitry-le-François. It had a population of 566,855 in 2019.<ref name=pop2019>Template:Cite web</ref>

The Champagne vineyards producing the eponymous sparkling wine are in Marne.

Name

The department is named after the Marne, which was called Matrona in Roman times.

History

Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the province of Champagne.

Marne has a long association with the French Army. The training ground of the Camp Militaire de Mailly straddles the border with the département of Aube in the south while that of the Camp de Mourmelon occupies a large area north of Châlons-en-Champagne. The smaller Camp de Moronvilliers lies to the east of Reims and the Camp Militaire de Suippes lies to the east of that. These are all located on the chalk grounds of the Champagne plateau, a feature comparable in geology but not size, with the British military training ground on Salisbury Plain.

The Battles of the Marne, where the British and French fought against Germany during World War I, took place here.

Geography

Marne is part of the region of Grand Est and is surrounded by the departments of Ardennes, Meuse, Haute-Marne, Aube, Seine-et-Marne, and Aisne.

Geologically, it divides into two distinct parts; the Upper Cretaceous chalk plain in the east and the more wooded and hilly Eocene and Oligocene in the west.

Rivers draining the department include the Marne, Vesle, Ardre and Somme-Soude. Numerous other rivers, such as the Grande and the Petite Morin rise in the department but flow mainly in others. Conversely, the Aube joins the Seine in the department of Marne.

Principal towns

The most populous commune in the department is Reims; the prefecture Châlons-en-Champagne is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are five communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:<ref name=pop2019/>

Commune	Population (2019)
Reims	181,194
Châlons-en-Champagne	44,379
Épernay	22,433
Vitry-le-François	11,376
Tinqueux	10,294

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Marnais.

Population development since 1801:Template:Historical populations

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Christian Bruyen, elected in 2017.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Election		Winning Candidate	Party	%	2nd Place Candidate	Party	%
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	2022	Emmanuel Macron	LREM	52.10	Marine Le Pen	FN	47.90
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	2017<ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref>	Emmanuel Macron	LREM	57.01	Marine Le Pen	FN	42.99
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	2012	Nicolas Sarkozy	UMP	55.31	François Hollande	PS	44.69
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	2007	Nicolas Sarkozy	UMP	59.20	Ségolène Royal	PS	40.80
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	2002<ref name="auto"/>	Jacques Chirac	RPR	79.83	Jean-Marie Le Pen	FN	20.17
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	1995<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Jacques Chirac	RPR	54.53	Lionel Jospin	PS	45.47

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency		Member<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>	Party
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marne's 1st constituency	Xavier Albertini	HOR
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marne's 2nd constituency	Laure Miller	RE
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marne's 3rd constituency	Maxime Michelet	LR
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marne's 4th constituency	Lise Magnier	HOR
style="background-color: Template:Party color" |	Marne's 5th constituency	Charles de Courson	LC

Tourism

Reims, with its cathedral in which the kings of France were traditionally crowned, is a major attraction. Others include the bird reserve on the Lake Der-Chantecoq and the fishing lakes nearby. The Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims is a major area of country recreation. In the west of the département there are many scenic routes as also are the several wine cellars of Épernay.

• The Porte de Mars in Reims, a triumphal arch from the third century AD.
  The Porte de Mars in Reims, a triumphal arch from the third century AD.
• Cathedral of Reims where the kings of France were traditionally crowned
  Cathedral of Reims where the kings of France were traditionally crowned
• Vineyards near Épernay
  Vineyards near Épernay
• Champagne bottles
  Champagne bottles
• Valmy Battlefield
  Valmy Battlefield
• Notre-Dame-en-Vaux collegiate church in Châlons-en-Champagne
  Notre-Dame-en-Vaux collegiate church in Châlons-en-Champagne

See also

• Arrondissements of the Marne department
• Cantons of the Marne department
• Champagne Riots
• Communes of the Marne department
• French wine

References

<references />

External links

• Template:In lang Prefecture website
• Template:In lang Departmental Council website
• Template:In lang Official Tourist Board