Editing Le Havre (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Le Havre|Timeline of Le Havre}}
[[File:The Place Gambetta and docks, Havre, France-LCCN2001698147.jpg|thumb|Le Havre in the late 19th century]]
When founded in 1517, the city was named ''Franciscopolis'' after [[Francis I of France]]. It was subsequently named ''Le Havre-de-Grâce'' ("Harbor of Grace"; hence [[Havre de Grace, Maryland]]). Its construction was ordered to replace the ancient harbours of [[Honfleur]] and [[Harfleur]] whose utility had decreased due to silting.

The history of the city is inextricably linked to its harbour. In the 18th century, as trade from the [[West Indies]] was added to that of France and Europe, Le Havre began to grow.  On 19 November 1793, the city changed its name to Hâvre de Marat and later Hâvre-Marat in honor of the recently deceased [[Jean-Paul Marat]], who was seen as a martyr of the [[French Revolution]].  By early 1795, however, Marat's memory had become somewhat tarnished, and on 13 January 1795, Hâvre-Marat changed its name once more to simply Le Havre, its modern name. During the 19th century, it became an industrial center.

At the end of World War I Le Havre played a major role as the transit port used to wind up affairs after the war.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bullock |first=Arthur |title=Gloucestershire Between the Wars: A Memoir |publisher=The History Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7524-4793-3}} Pages 102-110.</ref>

The city was devastated during the [[Battle of Normandy]] when 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes were totally destroyed before its capture in [[Operation Astonia]]. The center was rebuilt in a [[Modernism|modernist]] style by [[Auguste Perret]].

===Heraldry===
{|class="wikitable"

|align="center" width="10%"|[[File:Blason_ville_fr_Le_Havre_(Seine-Maritime).svg|120px]]
| width="20%"|Current arms of Le Havre. The [[Salamander (legendary creature)|salamander]] is the [[Badge (heraldry)|badge]] of Francis I; the [[lion]] is from the [[Coat of arms of Belgium|Belgian coat of arms]]; it replaced a [[fleur-de-lis]] in 1926 to remember the [[De Broqueville government in exile|Belgian government in exile]] in Le Havre during the [[World War I|First World War]]).
|width="80%"|''Gules, a salamander Argent crowned and enflamed Or, a chief Azure charged with three fleurs-de-lis Or, a canton Sable charged with a lion Or armed and langued Gules.''
|-
|align="center"|[[File:Blason ville Le Havre Empire.svg|120px]]
|Arms of Le Havre under the [[First French Empire]]
|''Gules, a salamander Argent crowned and enflamed Or, a chief Azure with three mullets Or; a quarter Azure with a letter N surmounted by a mullet Or.''

|}