Côtes-d'Armor is a department in the north of
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, in northwestern France.
History
Côtes-du-Nord was one of the original 83 departments created during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former
provinceThe Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département system superseded provinces. The provinces of France were roughly equivalent to the historic counties of England...
of
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
. Its name was changed in 1990 to
Côtes-d'Armor (
ar mor meaning
the sea in
BretonBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
). The name also has a historical connotation recalling the
Roman provinceIn Ancient Rome, a province was the basic, and, until the Tetrarchy , largest territorial and administrative unit of the empire's territorial possessions outside of Italy...
of
ArmoricaArmorica or Aremorica is the name given in ancient times to the part of Gaul that includes the Brittany peninsula and the territory between the Seine and Loire rivers, extending inland to an indeterminate point and down the Atlantic coast...
.
The present department corresponds to most of historical
TrégorTrégor is one of the nine provinces of Brittany, in its northwestern area. It comprises the western part of the department of Côtes-d'Armor and a small part of the northeast of Finistère, as far as the river Morlaix...
, part of
CornouailleCornouaille is a historic region in Brittany, in northwest France. The name is identical to the French name for the Duchy of Cornwall, since the area was settled by migrant princes from Cornwall...
, and most of
Saint-BrieucSaint-Brieuc is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-History:Saint-Brieuc is named after a Welsh monk Brioc, who evangelized the region in the 6th century and established an oratory there...
.
Geography
Côtes-d'Armor is part of the current administrative region of Brittany and is surrounded by the departments of
FinistèreFinistère is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.-History:The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel...
,
MorbihanMorbihan is a department in Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Morbihan , the enclosed sea that is the principal feature of the coastline.-History:...
, and
Ille-et-VilaineIlle-et-Vilaine is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country.- History :Ille-et-Vilaine is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
, with the
English ChannelThe English Channel , often referred to simply as the Channel, is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that separates southern England from northern France, and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. It is about long and varies in width from at its widest to in the Strait of Dover...
to the north.
Politics
The Côtes-d'Armor has usually been a left-wing holdout in a historically strongly clerical and right-wing
BrittanyBrittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
, due to the department's more anti-clerical nature, especially in the inland area around
GuingampGuingamp is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Guingamp are called guingampais.-Breton language:...
, a former
CommunistThe French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
stronghold.
The President of the General Council is Claudy Lebreton of the
Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
.
| Party |
seats |
| • |
Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
|
33 |
|
Union for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
|
8 |
| • |
Miscellaneous Left Miscellaneous Left in France refers to left-wing candidates that are not member of any large party. They either include small left-wing parties or dissidents expelled from their parties for running against their party's candidate. Numerous DVG candidates are elected at a local level, and a smaller...
|
4 |
| • |
French Communist Party The French Communist Party is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism.Although its electoral support has declined in recent decades, the PCF retains a large membership, behind only that of the Union for a Popular Movement , and considerable influence in French...
|
4 |
|
Miscellaneous Right Miscellaneous Right in France refers to right-wing candidates that are not member of any large party. They either include small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their parties for running against their party's candidate, as well as candidates who were never formal members of a party...
|
1 |
|
MoDem The Democratic Movement , MoDem) is a centrist, social liberal and pro-European French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou to succeed his Union for French Democracy and to contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential...
|
1 |
Culture
The western part of the
département is part of the traditionally
BretonBreton is a Celtic language spoken in Brittany , France. Breton is a Brythonic language, descended from the Celtic British language brought from Great Britain to Armorica by migrating Britons during the Early Middle Ages. Like the other Brythonic languages, Welsh and Cornish, it is classified as...
-speaking "Lower Brittany" (
Breizh-Izel in Breton). The boundary runs from
PlouhaPlouha is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Bretagne in northwestern France.-Population:Inhabitants of Plouha are called plouhatins.-International relations:Plouha is twinned with Killorglin located in County Kerry, Ireland....
to
Mûr-de-BretagneMûr-de-Bretagne is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.-External links:*...
. The Breton language has become an intense issue in many parts of Brittany, and many Breton-speakers advocate for bilingual schools.
GalloGallo is a regional language of France. Gallo is a Romance language, one of the Oïl languages. It is the historic language of the region of Upper Brittany and some neighboring portions of Normandy, but today is spoken by only a small minority of the population, having been largely superseded by...
is also spoken in the east and is offered as a language in the schools and on the baccalaureat exams.
See also
- Cantons of the Côtes-d'Armor department
- Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department
- Arrondissements of the Côtes-d'Armor department
External links
Prefecture website General Council website
Tourist board website