Manche (, ) is a coastal

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, on the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" ( Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), ( Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Ka ...

, which is known as ''La Manche'', literally "the sleeve", in French. It had a population of 495,045 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 50 Hérault
INSEE

History

Manche is one of the original 83 départements created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the province of Normandie. The first capital was Coutances until 1796, and it resumed that role after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

because of the almost complete destruction of Saint-Lô during the battle of Normandy following

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

. When Saint-Lô was rebuilt, it again became the capital.

Geography

The department includes the Cotentin Peninsula down to the famous

Mont St Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and is ...

; though of the off-shore

Channel Islands The Channel Islands ( nrf, Îles d'la Manche; french: îles Anglo-Normandes or ''îles de la Manche'') are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown Dependencies: the Bailiwick of Jersey, ...

only Chausey forms part of the territory of the department. Manche borders the Normandy departments of Calvados to the east and

Orne Orne (; nrf, Ôrne or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Mayenne Mayenne () is a landlocked department in northwest France named after the river Mayenne. Mayenne is part of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire and is surrounded by the departments of Manche, Orne, Sarthe, Maine-et-Loire, and I ...

, a department of the

Pays de la Loire Pays de la Loire (; ; br, Broioù al Liger) is one of the 18 regions of France, in the west of the mainland. It was created in the 1950s to serve as a zone of influence for its capital, Nantes, one of a handful of "balancing metropolises" (). ...

, is to the south-east, and

Ille-et-Vilaine Ille-et-Vilaine (; br, Il-ha-Gwilen) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after the two rivers of the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,079,498 in 2019.

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica during the period ...

is to the south-west. The salient of this department is the longest in France. It also being the second longest salient in Europe, after

Odessa Oblast Odesa Oblast ( uk, Оде́ська о́бласть, translit=Odeska oblast), also referred to as Odeshchyna ( uk, Оде́щина) is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its admin ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inva ...

. The region is lush and green with sandy beaches, remaining very rural and farming oriented. The peninsula was originally joined as a single land mass to

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a Historic counties of England, historic county and Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people ...

and

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset. Covering an area of , ...

in England, meaning that the underlying geological strata of both countryside are very similar. Consequently there are substantial regional differences today in terms of flora and fauna, and farming practices have varied considerably between the UK and France. Flat marsh areas in the department are known for their bird watching. The region and around St Lo is also the horse capital of France, where the cooler climate compared to the south is ideal for breeding and training. France's first EPR nuclear reactor is under construction at Flamanville near Cherbourg. Start-up is scheduled for the end of 2023.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin () is a Communes of France, city in the Departments of France, department of Manche, Normandy (administrative region), Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.Saint-Lô is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Climate

The climate is oceanic, with relatively mild winters - temperatures can go below zero for a few days occasionally. Temperate summers, around 20 °C, can occasionally reach 35 °C in direct sunlight. Precipitation is substantial, and varies greatly by region, between 700mm on the coast and 1300mm in the southern central area. Highly localised, not life-threatening flash flooding has been experienced over the last few years in the spring period. The west coast benefits from the

Gulf stream The Gulf Stream, together with its northern extension the North Atlantic Drift, is a warm and swift Atlantic ocean current that originates in the Gulf of Mexico and flows through the Straits of Florida and up the eastern coastline of the Unit ...

's influence, allowing for the naturalization of Mediterranean and exotic plants like mimosas, palms, and agaves. There is often a sea breeze on the coast, which combined with tides contributes to quick temperature changes over a single day. Sea temperatures can be very pleasant for swimming between June and October.

Demographics

Inhabitants of the department are called ''Manchots'' or ''Manchois''. Population development since 1801:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Jean Morin, elected in July 2021.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Sports

Saint-André-de-l'Épine - place principale (3)

* Football: main clubs: AS Cherbourg, US Avranches, FC Saint-Lô, US Granville, CS Villedieu, FC Équeurdreville-Hainneville... * Cycling: the

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

has visited the department 21 times with stages ending at Cherbourg (16), Avranches (2), Granville (1), Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët (1), and the Mont-Saint-Michel (1). * Sailing: the Solitaire du Figaro has come to Cherbourg several times. * Tennis: hosts the

Challenger La Manche The Challenger La Manche is a professional tennis tournament played on Tennis court#Indoor courts, indoor hard courts. It is currently part of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) ATP Challenger Tour, Challenger Tour. It has been held annu ...

tournament. * Thai boxing: Villedieu-les-Poêles * Badminton: Two local clubs compete in the national championship (N3): St Hilaire du Harcouet and Hainneville. * Golf: course: Granville, Bréhal, Coutainville, Cherbourg, Centre Manche, Fontenay, Côte des Isles

Tourism

File:MontStMichel.jpg,

Mont-Saint-Michel Mont-Saint-Michel (; Norman: ''Mont Saint Miché''; ) is a tidal island and mainland commune in Normandy, France. The island lies approximately off the country's north-western coast, at the mouth of the Couesnon River near Avranches and i ...

File:Sound de chausey par mauvais temps.JPG, Chausey islands File:Coutances vue nord.jpg,

Coutances Cathedral Coutances Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Coutances) is a Gothic Catholic cathedral constructed from 1210 to 1274 in the town of Coutances, Normandy, France. It incorporated the remains of an earlier Norman cathedral. It is the ...

File:Tour Vauban, Tatihou, Saint Vaast La Hougue 01.jpg,

Tour Vauban The Tour Vauban ( Vauban Tower), initially known as the tour de Camaret, is an 18m-high polygonal defensive tower built to a plan by Vauban on the Sillon at Camaret-sur-Mer, as part of the fortifications of the goulet de Brest. It has three level ...

Tatihou Tatihou is an islet of Normandy in France with an area of . It is located to the east of the Cotentin peninsula just off the coast near Saint-Vaast-la-Hougue. It is almost uninhabited, and is usually reached by amphibious craft although, bein ...

File:Napoleon a Cherbourg bordercropped.jpg,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

's statue in

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Febr ...

Image:Le Redoutable.jpg, Le Redoutable submarine at the

Cité de la Mer The Cité de la Mer ("city of the sea") is a maritime museum in Cherbourg, France. The museum is in the cruise terminal of Cherbourg. This monument was built in 1933; it is one of the bigger art-deco monuments of today. History The former tr ...

File:Utah Beach 2006-Sherman.jpg, A vestige of the

Normandy landings The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as ...

in Utah Beach

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
* *
A whole wiki about the Manche !
*
Comité départemental du tourisme de la Manche
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Normandy States and territories established in 1790