La Flotte (; sometimes locally La Flotte-en-Re), is a '' commune'' on the

Île de Ré Île de Ré (; variously spelled Rhé or Rhéa; Poitevin: ''ile de Rét''; en, Isle of Ré, ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France near La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime, on the northern side of the Pertuis d'Antioche strait. Its high ...

off the western coast of France, administratively part of the department of

Charente-Maritime Charente-Maritime () is a department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kil ...

within the larger

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine (; oc, Nòva Aquitània or ; eu, Akitania Berria; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Novéle-Aguiéne'') is the largest administrative region in France, spanning the west and southwest of the mainland. The region was created by ...

region.Commune de La Flotte (17161)
INSEE It is the largest municipality on the Île de Ré by area, and the second largest by population, second to

Sainte-Marie-de-Ré Sainte-Marie-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint Mary of Ré'') is a commune in the Charente-Maritime department in southwestern France. Geography Sainte-Marie-de-Ré is a small village, on the southern coast of the Île de Ré, facing the Île d' ...

on the southern tip of the island. La Flotte was declared one of the most beautiful villages in France by the eponymous independent tourism organization ''

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ''Les Plus Beaux Villages de France'' (meaning “the most beautiful villages of France”) is an independent association created in 1982 for the promotion of the tourist appeal of small rural villages with a rich cultural heritage. As of Septem ...

,'' and since 2011, the town has been a part of the departmental government's "Stone and Water Villages" tourism initiative to promote notable coastal and waterfront locales (i.e., where the stone (city) meets the water (sea, river etc.).

Geography

The ''commune'' of La Flotte contains the town proper and a marina. The shoreline is bordered by small cliffs, and is home to Arnéult Beach, an

artificial beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological sources, such as mollusc shell ...

that has to be re-sanded each year.

Town Planning

La Flotte is an urban municipality, part of the

urban unit In France, an urban unit (''fr: "unité urbaine"'') is a statistical area defined by INSEE, the French national statistics office, for the measurement of contiguously built-up areas. According to the INSEE definition , an "unité urbaine" is a ...

of La Flotte, which also contains the commune of

Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Martin-de-Ré (, literally ''Saint-Martin of Ré''; Saintongeais: ''Sént-Martin-de-Ré'') is a commune in the western French department of Charente-Maritime.Unité urbaine 2020 de la Flotte (17130)
INSEE In addition, the municipality is part of the attraction area of La Flotte, covering 4 communes. The municipality, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean , is also a coastal municipality within the meaning of the law ofJanuary 3, 1986, known as the coastal law . From then on, specific town planning provisions apply in order to preserve natural spaces, sites, landscapes and the ecological balance of the coast , such as for example the principle of inconstructibility, outside urbanized areas, on the strip. coastline of 100 meters, or more if the local urban plan provides for it , .

Land Use

The zoning of the municipality, as reflected in the database European occupation biophysical soil Corine Land Cover (CLC), is marked by the importance of the agricultural land (47% in 2018), nevertheless down from 1990 (55.1%). The detailed breakdown in 2018 is as follows: forests (34.3%), permanent crops (18.3%), urbanized areas (17.9%), heterogeneous agricultural areas (15.9%), arable land (9, 1%), meadows (3.7%), artificial green spaces, non-agricultural (0.5%), coastal wetlands (0.4%) . The IGN also provides an online tool to compare the evolution over time of land use in the municipality (or in territories at different scales). Several eras are accessible as aerial maps or photos: the Cassini map ( xviii ^th century), the map of Staff (1820-1866) and the current period (1950 to present) .

Economic Activity

* Agriculture, asparagus, potatoes, vine. * Oyster farming, boating, fishing. * Tourism. Accommodation: six hotels, five campsites, guest houses, seasonal rentals.

History

the November 6, 1627, the regiment of the French Guards attacks the English troops, of George Villiers duke of Buckingham , who besiege the citadel of Saint-Martin-de-Ré , defended by Jean du Caylar de Saint-Bonnet, marquis de Toiras . After causing the English assault to fail, the French Guards retreated through the town of La Flotte, burned three English vessels there in the port and returned to Fort La Prée . Gustave Dechézeaux's native village ''(October 8, 1760 - January 17, 1794)'' . Member of the National Convention . Unjustly accused, he was guillotined at Rochefort then rehabilitated by the Convention onApril 18, 1795.

Government

* For 1855, municipal councilor acting as mayor. ** For the year 1870, from 21st of October to July, (Fourgnaud, Brin, Margotteau, Biret) municipal commission

2008 Municipal Elections

2001 Municipal Elections

1995 Municipal Elections

1989 Municipal Elections

Demographics

Its inhabitants are called the ''Flottais'' and the ''Flottaises''. In 2018, the town had 2,759 inhabitants, down 4.8% compared to 2013 (Charente-Maritime: + 2.13%, France excluding Mayotte: +1.78%).

Culture and Heritage

Places and Monuments

* The Port: it was a commercial port for wine and salt, then a fishing port. It is essentially a marina today. Its capacity is 200 berths on pontoons and 150 berths in organized moorings. The boats celebrate during the "night shadows" sound and light and during the harbor festival in May of each year. * The ruins of the Cistercian Abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Ré (between Rivedoux-Plage and La Flotte). The whole has been classified as a “historic monument” sinceMay 21, 1990. * The Fort La Pree built in 1625 and partially destroyed by Vauban in 1685 . * The Medieval Market. * La Maison du Platin, museum fishing, shore fishing, oyster farming, the rétaise flottaise and life (photo collections from the early xx ^th century and models). * The Church of St. Catherine Fleet (or "Church of St. Catherine of Alexandria") dating from the xv ^th century. Listed, in part, as a Historic Monument, in 1988 . The village is one of the most beautiful villages in France .

Historical Figures from La Flotte

* Nicolas Martiau (1591-1657), Huguenot settler, ancestor of George Washington and General Lee . * Denis Goguet (1704-1778), merchant and shipowner * Gustave Dechézeaux (October 8, 1760 in La Flotte-en-Ré - January 17, 1794in Rochefort), French politician. Member of the National Convention , sentenced to death "for having conspired against the Republic", guillotined, then rehabilitated by this same Convention. * Jacques Gilles Henri Goguet (1767-1794), general * Léon Gendre, general councilor of the canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré (reelected in 2011), president of the Community of communes of the island of Ré from 1993 to 2008, mayor of La Flotte since 1977, ex-restaurateur (creator of the restaurant Le Richelieu). * M ^me Tencin , salonnière and woman of letters who had Grainetière between 1735 and 1749. * Roger Barberot (1915-2002) -, Companion of the Liberation by decree ofMarch 7, 1941, the most decorated sailor in France in 1944, owned a property there near the market.