Orne

Orne (French pronunciation: [ɔʁn] (listen)) is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne.

For French rivers called Orne, see Orne (disambiguation).
Orne
Department
Prefecture building of the Orne department, in Alençon
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Orne in France
Coordinates: 48°42′N 0°0′E
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
PrefectureAlençon
SubprefecturesArgentan
Mortagne-au-Perche
Government
 • President of the General CouncilAlain Lambert (UMP)
Area
 • Total6,103 km2 (2,356 sq mi)
Population
 (2016)
 • Total285,308
 • Rank76th
 • Density47/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number61
Arrondissements3
Cantons21
Communes385
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History

Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche. It is the birthplace of Charlotte Corday, Girondist and the assassin of Jean-Paul Marat.

Geography

Orne is in the region of Normandy neighbouring Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, Manche, Mayenne, and Calvados. It is the only department of Normandy to be landlocked.

Economy

The largest town by a considerable margin is the prefecture, Alençon which is an administrative and commercial centre for what is still an overwhelmingly a rural department. There are no large industrial centres, as agriculture remains the economic focus of Orne.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801395,738—    
1806424,669+1.42%
1821422,884−0.03%
1831441,881+0.44%
1841442,072+0.00%
1851439,884−0.05%
1861423,350−0.38%
1872398,250−0.55%
1881376,126−0.63%
1891354,387−0.59%
1901326,952−0.80%
1911307,433−0.61%
1921274,814−1.12%
1931273,717−0.04%
1936269,331−0.32%
1946273,181+0.14%
1954274,862+0.08%
1962280,549+0.26%
1968288,524+0.47%
1975293,523+0.25%
1982295,472+0.09%
1990293,204−0.10%
1999292,337−0.03%
2006292,874+0.03%
2011290,891−0.14%
2016285,308−0.39%
source:[1]

The inhabitants of the department are called Ornais.

The recorded population level peaked at 443,688 in 1836. Declining farm incomes and the lure of better prospects in the overseas empire led to a sustained reduction in population levels in many rural departments. By the time of the 1936 census, the recorded population stood at just 269,331. Once motor car ownership started to surge in the 1960s, employment opportunities became less restricted and by 2008, the population level had recovered a little to 292,282.

The two major cities in the Orne are Alençon, the prefecture, and Flers.

Politics

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[2]Party
Orne's 1st constituency Joaquim Pueyo Socialist Party
Orne's 2nd constituency Véronique Louwagie The Republicans
Orne's 3rd constituency Jérôme Nury The Republicans

Culture

Alençon is the chief town of the Orne department.

Camembert, the village where Camembert cheese is made, is located in Orne.

The local dialect is known as Augeron.

Tourism
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See also

References
  1. Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France
  2. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/
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