Lorient (; ) is a town ('' commune'') and

seaport A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Hamburg, Manc ...

in the

Morbihan The Morbihan ( , ; ) is a departments of France, department in the administrative region of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, situated in the northwest of France. It is named after the Gulf of Morbihan, Morbihan (''small sea'' in Breton ...

department of

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

in western

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

Prehistory and classical antiquity

Beginning around 3000 BC, settlements in the area of Lorient are attested by the presence of megalithic architecture. Ruins of

Roman roads Roman roads ( ; singular: ; meaning "Roman way") were physical infrastructure vital to the maintenance and development of the Roman state, built from about 300 BC through the expansion and consolidation of the Roman Republic and the Roman Em ...

(linking

Vannes Vannes (; , , ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Departments of France, French department of Morbihan, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany, northwestern mainland France. It was founded over 2,000 years ago. History Celtic ...

Quimper Quimper (, ; ; or ) is a Communes of France, commune and Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Finistère Departments of France, department of Brittany (administrative region), Brittany in northwestern France. Administration Quimper is the ...

and Port-Louis to Carhaix) confirm

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

presence.

Founding

In 1664, Jean-Baptiste Colbert founded the French East Indies Company. In June 1666, an ordinance of

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

granted lands of Port-Louis to the company, along with Faouédic on the other side of the

roadstead A roadstead or road is a sheltered body of water where ships can lie reasonably safely at anchor without dragging or snatching.United States Army technical manual, TM 5-360. Port Construction and Rehabilitation'. Washington: United States. Gove ...

. One of its directors, Denis Langlois, bought lands at the confluence of the Scorff and the Blavet rivers, and built

slipway A slipway, also known as boat ramp or launch or boat deployer, is a ramp on the shore by which ships or boats can be moved to and from the water. They are used for building and repairing ships and boats, and for launching and retrieving smal ...

s. At first, it only served as a subsidiary of Port-Louis, where offices and warehouses were located. The following years, the operation was almost abandoned, but in 1675, during the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

, the French East Indies Company scrapped its base in

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

since it was too exposed during wartime, and transferred its infrastructures to l'Enclot, out of which Lorient grew. The company then erected a chapel, workshops, forges, and offices, leaving Port-Louis permanently. The city's name is derived from ''Le Soleil d'Orient'', the first ship constructed at the site, in 1669. Workers gave the site the name of the ship, which, by contraction, became simply ''L'Orient'' and finally ''Lorient''. The French Royal Navy opened a base there in 1690, under the command of Colbert de Seignelay, who inherited his father's position as Secretary of State of the Navy. At the same time,

privateer A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

s from

Saint-Malo Saint-Malo (, , ; Gallo language, Gallo: ; ) is a historic French port in Ille-et-Vilaine, Brittany (administrative region), Brittany. The Fortification, walled city on the English Channel coast had a long history of piracy, earning much wealth ...

took shelter there. In 1700, the town grew out of l'Enclot following a law forcing people to leave the domain to move to the Faouédic heath. In 1702, there were about 6,000 inhabitants in Lorient, though activities slowed, and the town began to decline.

Growth under the Company of the Indies

The town experienced a period of growth when John Law formed the Perpetual Company of the Indies by absorbing other chartered companies (including the French East India Company), and chose Lorient as its operations base. Despite the

economic bubble An economy is an area of the Production (economics), production, Distribution (economics), distribution and trade, as well as Consumption (economics), consumption of Goods (economics), goods and Service (economics), services. In general, it is ...

caused by the Company in 1720, the city was still growing as it took part in the Atlantic triangular slave trade. From 1720 to 1790, 156 ships deported an estimated 43,000 slaves. In 1732, the Company decided to transfer its sales headquarters from

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

to Lorient, and asked architect

Jacques Gabriel Jacques Gabriel (1667 – 23 April 1742) was a French architect, the father of the famous Ange-Jacques Gabriel. Jacques Gabriel was a designer, painter and architect of the 17th and 18th centuries and one of the most prominent designers of t ...

to raise new buildings out of

dimension stone Dimension stone is natural stone or Rock (geology), rock that has been selected and finished (e.g., trimmed, cut, drilled or ground) to specific sizes or shapes. Color, Texture (geology), texture and pattern, and surface finish of the stone are ...

s to host these new activities, and to embellish the L'Enclos domain. Sales began in 1734, peaking up to 25 million '' livres tournois''. In 1769, the Company's monopoly ended with the scrapping of the company itself, under the influence of the physiocrats. Until the Company's closure, the city took advantage of its prosperity. In 1738, there were 14,000 inhabitants, or 20,000 considering the outlying villages of Kerentrech, Merville, La Perrière, Calvin, and Keryado, which are now neighbourhoods within the present-day city limits. In 1735, new streets were laid out and in 1738, it was granted city status. Further work was undertaken as the streets began to be paved, wharves and slipways were built along the Faouédic river, and thatched houses were replaced with stone buildings following 18th-century classical architecture style as it was the case for l'Enclos. In 1744, the city walls were erected, and proved quickly useful as Lorient was raided in September 1746. Following the demise of the Company, the city lost one-seventh of its population. In 1769, the city evolved into a full-scale naval base for the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

when the

King King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

bought out the Company's infrastructures for 17,500,000 '' livres tournois''. From 1775 on, the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

brought a surge in activity, as many

privateers A privateer is a private person or vessel which engages in commerce raiding under a commission of war. Since robbery under arms was a common aspect of seaborne trade, until the early 19th century all merchant ships carried arms. A sovereign o ...

hailed from Lorient. When the war ended, transatlantic lines opened to the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and in 1785, a new commercial company started under Calonne's tutelage (then

Controller-General of Finances The Controller-General or Comptroller-General of Finances () was the name of the minister in charge of finances in France from 1661 to 1791. It replaced the former position of Superintendent of Finances (''Surintendant des finances''), which was ab ...

) with the same goal as the previous entities, i.e. conducting trade in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, with again Lorient standing as its operative base. The French Revolution and the subsequent

Napoleonic wars {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Napoleonic Wars , partof = the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars , image = Napoleonic Wars (revision).jpg , caption = Left to right, top to bottom:Battl ...

put an end to trade for nearly two decades.

19th and early 20th centuries

Maritime activities slowed at the start of the 19th century. Activity at the shipyards and naval base reached a low that would last until the

July Monarchy The July Monarchy (), officially the ''Kingdom of France'' (), was a liberalism, liberal constitutional monarchy in France under , starting on 9 August 1830, after the revolutionary victory of the July Revolution of 1830, and ending 26 Februar ...

. During this period, the city was more of an administrative center. The first

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

opened in 1822, a

lazaretto A lazaretto ( ), sometimes lazaret or lazarette ( ), is a quarantine station for maritime travelers. Lazarets can be ships permanently at anchor, isolated islands, or mainland buildings. In some lazarets, postal items were also disinfected, usu ...

in 1823, and

barracks Barracks are buildings used to accommodate military personnel and quasi-military personnel such as police. The English word originates from the 17th century via French and Italian from an old Spanish word 'soldier's tent', but today barracks ar ...

in 1839. The city began to modernize in the second quarter of the century; in 1825, a roofed slipway and a

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

were added to the shipyards. A

sardine Sardine and pilchard are common names for various species of small, oily forage fish in the herring suborder Clupeoidei. The term "sardine" was first used in English during the early 15th century; a somewhat dubious etymology says it com ...

cannery opened the same year. The first gasworks was built in 1845. In the second half of the 19th century, the

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs Work (physics), mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a Cylinder (locomotive), cyl ...

allowed the ports to strengthen their output. The first

locomotive A locomotive is a rail transport, rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, Push–pull train, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for ...

reached the city in 1865. In 1861, the original

was enlarged as a second one was dug out. The same year, the

ironclad An ironclad was a steam engine, steam-propelled warship protected by iron armour, steel or iron armor constructed from 1859 to the early 1890s. The ironclad was developed as a result of the vulnerability of wooden warships to explosive or ince ...

'' Couronne'' was built on a design directly inspired by the '' Gloire''

class Class, Classes, or The Class may refer to: Common uses not otherwise categorized * Class (biology), a taxonomic rank * Class (knowledge representation), a collection of individuals or objects * Class (philosophy), an analytical concept used d ...

, though unlike her wooden-hull predecessors, she was entirely made of iron. She was followed in 1876 by the ironclad '' Redoutable'', the first ship in the world with a steel structure. In 1889, fishing expanded following the creation of the municipal fish market, and the arrival of steam-powered

fishing trawler A fishing trawler is a commercial fishing vessel designed to operate fishing trawls. Trawling is a method of fishing that involves actively dragging or pulling a trawl through the water behind one or more trawlers. Trawls are fishing nets tha ...

s in 1900. The Keroman fishing port construction started in 1920.

World War II

In 1941, the

Germans Germans (, ) are the natives or inhabitants of Germany, or sometimes more broadly any people who are of German descent or native speakers of the German language. The Basic Law for the Federal Republic of Germany, constitution of Germany, imple ...

, then occupying France, chose to establish a U-boat base at Lorient. The

submarine A submarine (often shortened to sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. (It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability.) The term "submarine" is also sometimes used historically or infor ...

facilities quickly became targets of constant bombing from Allied air forces. The Germans decided to build a complex of bomb-proof submarine pens, their largest U-boat base, which would house the 2nd and the 10th U-boat flotillas for the bulk of the

Battle of the Atlantic The Battle of the Atlantic, the longest continuous military campaign in World War II, ran from 1939 to the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945, covering a major part of the naval history of World War II. At its core was the Allies of World War II, ...

Karl Dönitz Karl Dönitz (; 16 September 1891 – 24 December 1980) was a German grand admiral and convicted war criminal who, following Adolf Hitler's Death of Adolf Hitler, suicide, succeeded him as head of state of Nazi Germany during the Second World ...

, then supreme commander of the U-boat Arm, moved his staff into the Kernevel villa, just across the water from Keroman, in Larmor-Plage. In 1943–1944, Lorient was nearly razed to the ground by Allied

bombing A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-transmitted mechan ...

, which failed to destroy the submarine pens despite 4,000 tons of bombs dropped. According to the book ''Steel Boats, Iron Hearts'' (by former crewman Hans Goebeler), after the Allies failed to damage the U-boat bunkers the bombing shifted to the city itself to deny the Germans workers and other resources. Before the bombings, thousands of leaflets were dropped on the population instructing the inhabitants to evacuate. Between 14 January 1943 and 17 February 1943, as many as 500 high-explosive

aerial bomb An aerial bomb is a type of Explosive weapon, explosive or Incendiary device, incendiary weapon intended to travel through the Atmosphere of Earth, air on a predictable trajectory. Engineers usually develop such bombs to be dropped from an aircra ...

s and more than 60,000 incendiary bombs were dropped on Lorient. After the

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

in June 1944 and the subsequent breakout, Lorient was surrounded by Allied troops on 12 August 1944. Its usefulness as a naval base gone, Lorient was left in a state of siege, surrounded by the French Forces of the West, supported by a US infantry division. On 10 May 1945, the German garrison surrendered, two days after the official final unconditional surrender of Germany. In 1949, the city of Lorient was awarded the

Legion of Honour The National Order of the Legion of Honour ( ), formerly the Imperial Order of the Legion of Honour (), is the highest and most prestigious French national order of merit, both military and Civil society, civil. Currently consisting of five cl ...

and the ''

Croix de guerre 1939–1945 Croix (French for "cross") may refer to: Belgium * Croix-lez-Rouveroy, a village in municipality of Estinnes in the province of Hainaut France * Croix, Nord, in the Nord department * Croix, Territoire de Belfort, in the Territoire de Belfort d ...

''.

Reconstruction

In April 1945, the Reconstruction Ministry advocated the use of temporary wooden shacks. These shelters were shipped as a kit to be built on site. In 1948, there were 28 settlements under the city's authority, and 20 more in the

urban area An urban area is a human settlement with a high population density and an infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas originate through urbanization, and researchers categorize them as cities, towns, conurbations or suburbs. In urbani ...

, distributed among the neighboring towns of Ploemeur, Lanester, Hennebont and Quéven. Each of these neighbourhoods could hold up to 280 houses. A new Hôtel de Ville (city hall) was completed in 1960. This temporary housing would stand from 10 to 40 years depending on the location. The last shack in the largest settlement, Soye, was torn down in 1991. Today, only a few buildings dating to the 18th century still stand.

Geography

Location

Lorient is located on the south coast of

, where the rivers Scorff and Blavet join to form the roadstead of Lorient, before discharging into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The river Ter used to flow into the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime enviro ...

to the south of the city, however, a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

was constructed in 1967, stopping the flow. The city is south-west of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, south-west of

Rennes Rennes (; ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Resnn''; ) is a city in the east of Brittany in Northwestern France at the confluence of the rivers Ille and Vilaine. Rennes is the prefecture of the Brittany (administrative region), Brittany Regions of F ...

and north-west of

. The city comprises different neighbourhoods: * Bois du Château * Keryado * Saint-Armel * Kerentrech * Le Gaillec * Le Manio * Kerdual * Kervénanec * Lanveur * Keroman * Kergroise * Carnel * Kerfichant * Kerolay * Kerguestenen * Le Mir * La Perrière * La Ville Neuve * La Ville en Bois * Kermélo * Le Ter * Kerlin * Merville * La Nouvelle Ville * Le « bout du monde » * Saint-Maudé * Frébault-Polygone * Quehélio * Kervaric * Keryvalant * La Fontaine des Anglais * Kerforn * Le petit et le grand Batteur * Le Kreisker * Kerguillet * Le Parco * Soye Adjacent towns:

Climate

Under the

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

, Lorient experiences an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(Cfb), with mild winters and cool to warm summers. Precipitation is evenly distributed throughout the year. Frost is rare in winter, as are days over during summer.

Population

In 2017, Lorient had a population of 57,149. In 2017, its intercommunality

Lorient Agglomération Lorient Agglomération ( Breton: ''An Oriant Tolpad-kêrioù'') is the ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Lorient. It is located in the Morbihan department, in the Brittany region, northwestern Fr ...

had 203,309 inhabitants. Lorient is the most populous commune in

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'', although the '' préfecture'' is the slightly smaller commune of

. Inhabitants of Lorient are called ''Lorientais''. The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Lorient proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Lorient absorbed the former commune of Keryado in 1947.

Breton language

The municipality launched a linguistic plan through

Ya d'ar brezhoneg (, ) is a campaign started in the 21st century by the () to promote and stimulate the use of the Breton language in daily life in Brittany, northwestern France. Breton is a Brythonic Celtic language which has fallen out of general use since the ...

on 25 January 2007. In 2008, 2.71% of the children attended the bilingual schools in primary education.

Economy

Ports

Lorient is commonly referred to as ''La ville aux cinq ports'' ("the city of five ports"): military, fishing, commercial, passengers and yachting. In 2010, the sector represented 9,600 direct jobs for a total 12,000 jobs (with indirect jobs accounted for), or 12% of local employment. * Keroman fishing port ( fr): In 2010, with a catch of 27,000 tons, it was second only to

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...

regarding catch tonnage among French fishing ports, but first considering the cash value. It accounts for 3,000 jobs (including 700 fishermen) and 130 fishing vessels. * Kergroise cargo port : With 2.6 million tons of cargo per year (including oil, cattle fodder, sand, containers), it ranks first in Brittany. *

Marinas A marina (from Spanish language, Spanish , Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian : "related to the sea") is a Dock (maritime), dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a ...

: mooring berths are dispatched on Lorient (370), Kernevel (1,000), Port-Louis (450), Gâvres (57) and Guidel (102). Additionally, there is an long dock dedicated to offshore competitive sailing (''Pôle course au large''), recently built within the former submarine base. * Passenger ships : each year, more 457,500 passengers set sail to the nearby islands of Groix and Belle-Île-en-Mer. * Military : though no longer a

French Navy The French Navy (, , ), informally (, ), is the Navy, maritime arm of the French Armed Forces and one of the four military service branches of History of France, France. It is among the largest and most powerful List of navies, naval forces i ...

base, new

warship A warship or combatant ship is a naval ship that is used for naval warfare. Usually they belong to the navy branch of the armed forces of a nation, though they have also been operated by individuals, cooperatives and corporations. As well as b ...

s are still built at DCNS, docking temporarily on wharves along the Scorff river.

Industry

From its founding,

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

has always been of great importance to the city. DCNS continues the legacy of the formerly state-owned

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s (colloquially known as ''l'Arsenal'') that began operation in 1690. It still builds warships, mainly

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s. There is also a substantial industrial base in Keroman to support the fishing fleet.

Transport

Lorient South Brittany Airport is situated just west of the city at Lann Bihoue. It operates charter flights and regular flights to Toulouse. It used to operate direct flights to

and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

all year long and other city such as London and Porto in the Summer. The Gare de Lorient is the railway station, offering connections to Quimper, Nantes, Rennes, Paris (less than three hours by TGV) and several regional destinations.

Education

Schools in Lorient belong to the Academy of

Tertiary

* CPGE at ''Dupuy-de-Lôme'' and ''Saint Joseph-La salle''

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

s. * '' Université de Bretagne Sud''. * '' Institut universitaire de technologie de Lorient'' * ''

École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Bretagne Sud École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * Éco ...

'' * ''École supérieure d'art''. * ''École nationale de musique et de danse''.

Military

Active units based near Lorient: * Naval Commandos (''Commando Marine''): the

special forces Special forces or special operations forces (SOF) are military units trained to conduct special operations. NATO has defined special operations as "military activities conducted by specially designated, organized, selected, trained and equip ...

of the

. Accordingly, it is one of the most selective units among the

French armed forces The French Armed Forces (, ) are the military forces of France. They consist of four military branches – the Army, the Navy, the Air and Space Force, and the National Gendarmerie. The National Guard serves as the French Armed Forces' milita ...

, equivalent in their mission and affiliation to

Navy SEALs The United States Navy Sea, Air, and Land (SEAL) Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the United States Navy's primary special operations force and a component of the United States Naval Special Warfare Command. Among the SEALs' main funct ...

or British

Special Boat Service The Special Boat Service (SBS) is the special forces unit of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The SBS can trace its origins back to the Second World War when the Army Special Boat Section was formed in 1940. After the Second World War, the Roy ...

. Five out of the six existing naval commandos are based in Lanester, just across the Scorff river from Lorient. The Naval Fusilier & Commando Training School is also based here. * Lann-Bihoué Naval Aviation Base: Five squadrons ("'' flottilles''") are based in Ploemeur. Their tasks include airborne early warning, maritime patrol and

air-sea rescue Air-sea rescue (ASR or A/SR, also known as sea-air rescue), and aeronautical and maritime search and rescue (AMSAR) by the ICAO and International Maritime Organization, IMO, is the coordinated search and rescue (SAR) of the survivors of emergenc ...

Lorient Submarine Base

Lorient was the location of an extensive submarine base, built by

the Germans "The Germans" is the sixth episode of the first series of the British television sitcom '' Fawlty Towers''. Written by John Cleese and Connie Booth and directed by John Howard Davies, it was first broadcast on BBC2 on 24 October 1975. The ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and used subsequently by the

. Head of the U-Boat Arm

decided to construct the base on 28 June 1940. Between November 1940 and January 1942 a number of gigantic reinforced concrete structures were built. including three on the Keroman peninsula. They are called K1, K2 and K3. In 1944 work began on a fourth structure. The base was capable of sheltering thirty submarines. Lorient was damaged by Allied bombing raids but the naval base survived the war. Following the German surrender the base was used by the French Navy, named for Jacques Stosskopf, a hero of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

who had worked there. The base was decommissioned in 1995 and turned over to civilian use. It's now a museum.

Culture

Events

Each year in August since 1970, Lorient hosts the Festival interceltique, bringing together artists from all the Celtic world (

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, Galicia,

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Acadia Acadia (; ) was a colony of New France in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the The Maritimes, Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River. The population of Acadia included the various ...

and

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

). Each year, a Celtic nation is chosen as honored guest. It is one of the biggest festivals in Europe by attendance (800,000 people for the 40th edition)

Media

Lorient is home to TébéSud (formerly TyTélé), a local TV channel covering Morbihan through DTT.

Religion

Catholic churches are among the main religious landmarks of Lorient. While the Church of Our Lady of the Assumption was built in 1850 in a revivalist neo-Gothic style, the church of Saint Joan of Arc was built in a neo-Roman style in the 1930s by French architect Jean Desbois and a few years later in 1955, and the modernist church of Notre-Dame-de-Victoire is the highest point of Lorient with its 4-meter-high concrete bell tower though the population never really accepted this new style. Major Catholic festivals such as Christmas, Carnaval, Easter and the ''Pardon'' are celebrated as major feasts of the city.

Sports

Football

The most popular club in Lorient is

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (;), commonly referred to as FC Lorient (), is a French professional association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 2, having been relegated f ...

, which currently play in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1 (; ), officially known as Ligue 1 McDonald's France, McDonald's for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in France and the highest level of the French football league system. Administered by the Ligue de ...

, after winning

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsorship reasons, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions making up the Ligue de Football Prof ...

in 2020. They are nicknamed '' les Merlus''. They play their home fixtures at

Stade du Moustoir The Stade du Moustoir - Yves Allainmat, known as the Stade du Moustoir (), is a multi-use stadium in Lorient, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of FC Lorient. The stadium can hold up to 18,110 with t ...

. Christian Gourcuff has managed the team for over 20 years (aggregate years).

Sailing

The converted submarine base has been home port to several skippers and their sailing teams: * Jérémie Beyou (Delta Dore), *

Pascal Bidégorry Pascal Bidegorry (born 15 January 1968, in Bayonne) is a French sailor. Life He has raced across the Atlantic Ocean over 30 times and has set records in many classes. He has won the Solitaire du Figaro and the Transat Jacques Vabre; apart from ...

(Banque Populaire), * Franck Cammas (Groupama), winner of the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race * Samantha Davies (Roxy), * Jean-Baptiste Dejeanty (Maisonneuve), * Jean-Pierre Dick (Paprec-Virbac), * Yann Elies (Generali), * Alain Gautier (Foncia), * Sébastien Josse (British Telecom), * Marc Thiercelin (DCNS) Lorient was also a staging port during the 2011–12 Volvo Ocean Race, as well as the starting point of ''la Solitaire du Figaro'' (2009 edition). Eric Tabarly built three out of his six ''Pen Duick'' boats in Lorient.

Notable ''Lorientais''

Arts and literature

* Marie-Léontine Bordes-Pène (1858–1924), pianist * Charles Delioux (1825–1915), composer and pianist * Marie Dorval (1798–1849), actress * Irène Frain (b. 1950), writer * Ernest Hello (1828-1885), writer * Viktor Lazlo (b. 1960), singer * Rita Strohl (1865–1941), pianist and composer * Jacques Vaché (1895–1919), writer and artist

Sailors

* Jean-Baptiste Bompard (1757–1842), took part in the

as a

, later rose to the rank of

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

. * François Joseph Bouvet (1753–1832),

vice admiral Vice admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, usually equivalent to lieutenant general and air marshal. A vice admiral is typically senior to a rear admiral and junior to an admiral. Australia In the Royal Australian Navy, the rank of Vice ...

and maritime prefect *

Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau Jean-Baptiste Chaigneau (1769–1832) was a French Navy sailor and an adventurer who played an important role in Vietnam in the 19th century. He served the Nguyễn dynasty from 1794 to 1819, and 1821 to 1826,Tran, p. 206. and took the Vietnamese ...

(1769–1832), sailor, French

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

Cochinchina Cochinchina or Cochin-China (, ; ; ; ; ) is a historical exonym and endonym, exonym for part of Vietnam, depending on the contexts, usually for Southern Vietnam. Sometimes it referred to the whole of Vietnam, but it was commonly used to refer t ...

* Pierre-François Forissier, b. 1951, admiral,

Chief of Staff of the French Navy The Chief of the Naval Staff (, , abbr. CEMM) is a French general officer, adviser to the Chief of the Defence Staff (France), Chief of the Defence Staff for the French Navy and responsible to the Minister of the Armed Forces (France), Minister of ...

(2008–2011) *

Raymond Rallier du Baty Raymond Rallier du Baty (30 August 1881 – 7 May 1978) was a French sailor and Exploration, explorer, from Lorient in Brittany, who carried out surveys of the subantarctic Kerguelen Islands in the southern Indian Ocean in the early 20th century. ...

(1881–1978),

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

of the

Kerguelen islands The Kerguelen Islands ( or ; in French commonly ' but officially ', ), also known as the Desolation Islands (' in French), are a group of islands in the subantarctic, sub-Antarctic region. They are among the Extremes on Earth#Remoteness, most i ...

Politics

* Henri Dupuy de Lôme (1816–1885),

naval architect This is the top category for all articles related to architecture and its practitioners. {{Commons category, Architecture by occupation Design occupations Occupations Occupation commonly refers to: *Occupation (human activity), or job, one's rol ...

, chief designer of the '' Napoléon'', '' La Gloire'' and '' Gymnote'', which were breakthroughs in naval technology, also designed

airship An airship, dirigible balloon or dirigible is a type of aerostat (lighter-than-air) aircraft that can navigate through the air flying powered aircraft, under its own power. Aerostats use buoyancy from a lifting gas that is less dense than the ...

s, deputy representing

, member of the Academy of Sciences, senator for life. * Pierre-Paul Guieysse (1841–1914), Morbihan deputy, Minister of the Colonies. * Jean-Yves Le Drian, b. 1947, former mayor of Lorient, former Morbihan deputy, former

Minister of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divid ...

, former Secretary of State. * Jules Simon (1814–1896),

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

President of the Council of Ministers The president of the Council of Ministers (sometimes titled chairman of the Council of Ministers) is the most senior member of the cabinet in the executive branch of government in some countries. Some presidents of the Council of Ministers are ...

, senator for life, member of ''l'

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

''.

Sports

* Georges Eo, b. 1948, former

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager * Christian Gourcuff, b. 1955, former manager of

* Yoann Gourcuff, b. 1986, son of the former, international midfielder, currently plays for Stade Rennais F.C. * Ronan Le Crom, b. 1974, goalkeeper *

Enzo Le Fée Enzo Jérémy Le Fée (born 3 February 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Sunderland. Club career Lorient Le Fée began his football career in the youth academy of Kéryado, before moving to the youth ...

, b. 2000, midfielder for Sunderland AFC * Jérémy Morel, b. 1984, left-back for

Olympique de Marseille Olympique de Marseille (, ; , ), also known simply as Marseille, or by the abbreviation OM (, ), is a French professional Association football, football club based in Marseille which competes in Ligue 1, the French football league system, top f ...

* Illan Meslier, b. 2000, goalkeeper for

Leeds United Leeds United Football Club is a professional football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. The team compete in the Premier League, the top tier of the English football league system. Leeds United have won the League Championship th ...

Sciences

* Pierre Fatou (1878–1929), mathematician and astronomer * Nicole Le Douarin, b. 1930, biologist

Others

* Jacques Andrieux (1917–2005), WWII fighter ace and Compagnon de la Libération. * Élisabeth Le Port (1919-1943) WWII French Resistance member. * Jacques Stosskopf (1898–1944), naval engineer, '' résistant''. Mistaken for being a traitor, in 1946 the submarine base was renamed "Base Ingénieur Général Stosskopf" in his honour.

International relations

Lorient is twinned with: *

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland *

Vigo Vigo (, ; ) is a city and Municipalities in Spain, municipality in the province of province of Pontevedra, Pontevedra, within the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. Located in the northwest ...

, Spain * Wirral, England, United Kingdom *

Ventspils Ventspils () is a state city in northwestern Latvia in the historical Courland region of Latvia, and is the sixth largest city in the country. At the beginning of 2020, Ventspils had a population of 33,906. It is situated on the Venta River and ...

, Latvia *

Ludwigshafen Ludwigshafen, officially Ludwigshafen am Rhein (; meaning "Ludwig I of Bavaria, Ludwig's Port upon the Rhine"; Palatine German dialects, Palatine German: ''Ludwichshafe''), is a List of cities and towns in Germany, city in the German state of Rh ...

, Germany *

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 97,000 inhabitants. The city is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is the largest ...

, Czech Republic *

Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...

, Turkey

References

;Notes

External links

Official website
(in French)
Ville de Lorient et Festival Interceltique Images

Festival Interceltique de Lorient
*
See pictures on Antonio Mucherino's web site

Tourism office
(in French) {{Authority control Subprefectures in France German Navy submarine bases Communes of Morbihan Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast

History

Prehistory and classical antiquity

Founding

Growth under the Company of the Indies

19th and early 20th centuries

World War II

Reconstruction

Geography

Location

Climate

Population

Breton language

Economy

Ports

Industry

Transport

Education

Tertiary

Military

Lorient Submarine Base

Culture

Events

Media

Religion

Sports

Football

Sailing

Notable ''Lorientais''

Arts and literature

Sailors

Politics

Sports

Sciences

Others

International relations

See also

References

External links