Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the

Finistère Finistère (, ; br, Penn-ar-Bed ) is a department of France in the extreme west of Brittany. In 2019, it had a population of 915,090.

department of

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 ...

in north-western

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt. The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. Historically, the old town was a centre of shipbuilding, and its ramparts date from the 14th century. The Ville Close is now devoted to tourism with many restaurants and shops aimed at tourists. However restraint has been shown in resisting the worst excesses of souvenir shops. Also in the Ville Close is the fishing museum. The Ville Close is connected to the town by a bridge and at the other end a ferry to the village of Lanriec on the other side of the harbour.

Events

In August the town holds the annual ''Fête des Filets Bleus'' (Festival of the blue nets). The festival, named after the traditional blue nets of Concarneau's fishing fleet, is a celebration of Breton and pan-Celtic culture. Such festivals can occur throughout

but the Filets Bleus is one of the oldest and largest, attracting in excess of a thousand participants in traditional dress with many times that number of observers. In 2005, the 100th festival was celebrated.

Literature

Concarneau was the setting for Belgian mystery writer Georges Simenon's 1931 novel ''Le Chien jaune'' ('' The Yellow Dog''), featuring his celebrated sleuth Maigret.

Economy

Fishing Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are often caught as wildlife from the natural environment, but may also be caught from fish stocking, stocked bodies of water such as fish pond, ponds, canals, park wetlands and reservoirs. ...

, particularly for

tuna A tuna is a saltwater fish that belongs to the tribe Thunnini, a subgrouping of the Scombridae (mackerel) family. The Thunnini comprise 15 species across five genera, the sizes of which vary greatly, ranging from the bullet tuna (max length: ...

, has long been the primary economic activity in Concarneau. The Les Mouettes d'Arvor is one of the last traditional canning factories in Concarneau. Concarneau is one of the biggest fishing ports in France. Since the 1980s, other industries have arisen, such as boat construction and summer tourism. The Ville Close separates the working port from the yacht basin. Concarneau - Panoramique

Population

Inhabitants of Concarneau are called in

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 ...

''Concarnois''.

Breton language

In 2008, 2.16% of primary-school children attended

bilingual schools Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Eu ...

, where Breton language is taught alongside French. ''Ofis ar Brezhoneg''
''Enseignement bilingue''
/ref>

Sport

The football club US Concarneau is based in the town.

Personalities

* Michel Desjoyeaux, navigator * Samantha (Sam) Davies, sailor * Guy Cotten, founder of a clothes factory * Stéphane Guivarc'h, French footballer, won the

FIFA World Cup 1998 The 1998 FIFA World Cup was the 16th FIFA World Cup, the football world championship for men's national teams. The finals tournament was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. The country was chosen as the host nation by FIFA for the ...

with the French national side * Théophile Deyrolle and Alfred Guillou, founders of the Concarneau Art Colony. * Valérie Hermann President of Ralph Lauren

International relations

Twinned towns: * Bielefeld,

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...

since 1969 * M'bour,

Senegal Senegal,; Wolof: ''Senegaal''; Pulaar: 𞤅𞤫𞤲𞤫𞤺𞤢𞥄𞤤𞤭 (Senegaali); Arabic: السنغال ''As-Sinighal'') officially the Republic of Senegal,; Wolof: ''Réewum Senegaal''; Pulaar : 𞤈𞤫𞤲𞤣𞤢𞥄𞤲𞤣𞤭 ...

since 1974 * Penzance,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

since 1982

Gallery

File:Ville Close de Concarneau (1.1).jpg, The medieval Ville Close File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau1 tango7174.jpg, The medieval Ville Close File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau2 tango7174.jpg, The commercial harbour File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau3 tango7174.jpg, The yachting harbour File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau4 tango7174.jpg, At dusk File:Port de Concarneau.jpg, The port File:Concarneau - Port de plaisance.jpg, The yachting harbor File:Château de Kériolet (0).jpg, Château de Kériolet File:La plage des Sables Blancs.jpg, Les Sables Blancs File:La Ville Close.jpg, The Ville Close File:Statue de Duquesne à Concarneau.jpg,

Abraham Duquesne Abraham Duquesne, marquis du Bouchet (2 February 1688) was a French naval officer, who also saw service as an admiral in the Swedish navy. He was born in Dieppe, a seaport, in 1610, and was a Huguenot. He was the son of a naval officer and ther ...

File:Localisation Concarneau dept29.png, Concarneau's location in Finistère

References

External links

Official website
* {{Authority control Communes of Finistère Populated coastal places in Brittany Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Seaside resorts in France