Sarthe

This article is about the department. For the river, see Sarthe (river).

Sarthe
Department
Prefecture building of the Sarthe department, in Le Mans
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Sarthe in France
Coordinates: 48°17′N 0°13′E
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Prefecture	Le Mans
Subprefectures	La Flèche Mamers
Government
• President of the Departmental Council	Dominique Le Mèner
Area 1
• Total	6,206 km2 (2,396 sq mi)
Population  (2021)
• Total	566,058
• Rank	46th
• Density	91/km2 (240/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+1 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number	72
Arrondissements	3
Cantons	21
Communes	354
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

The Château de Boisclaireau, residence of the Gueroust family, Counts of Boisclaireau, in Sarthe.

Sarthe (French pronunciation: [saʁt] ) is a department of the French region of Pays de la Loire, and the province of Maine, situated in the Grand-Ouest of the country. It is named after the river Sarthe, which flows from east of Le Mans to just north of Angers. It had a population of 566,412 in 2019.

History

In the late 18th century, before it was officially Sarthe, the nobility built their mansions and chateaux in this region, as an escape from Paris.

The department was created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790, pursuant to the law of 22 December 1789, starting from a part of the province of Maine. The latter was divided into two departments, Sarthe to the east and Mayenne to the west.

In Roman times, this province contained the city of Mans, and many of its ruins are still standing. The Roman Thermal Bathhouse attracts many tourists, as does the Theater of Aubigné-Racan, both located on the outskirts of Anjou, Maine, and Touraine.

Marin Mersenne, perhaps the most important scientific figure in the early 17th century, was born in the vicinity of Sarthe.

Geography

The department of Sarthe is at the north end of the administrative region of Pays de la Loire. It is south of Normandy and on the southern edge of the Armorican Massif. It is bordered by the departments of Orne, Eure-et-Loir, Loir-et-Cher, Indre-et-Loire, Maine-et-Loire and Mayenne.

The arrival of the railways in 1854 boosted trade for the local economy. A TGV connection was constructed in 1989, connecting the community to high-speed transport. In terms of road connections, the A11 autoroute, which was constructed to Le Mans from the east in 1978, enhances Sarthe's strategic position as the gateway to the French west.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Le Mans, the prefecture. Approximately 370,000 people, comprising 65% of the department's population, live in the Le Mans urban area. The rest of the department retains a rural character, with agriculture as the chief part of the economy. As of 2019, there are 4 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Commune	Population (2019)
Le Mans	143,847
La Flèche	14,858
Sablé-sur-Sarthe	12,125
Allonnes	11,167

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1801 388,143 —     1806 410,380 +1.12% 1821 428,432 +0.29% 1831 457,372 +0.66% 1841 470,535 +0.28% 1851 473,071 +0.05% 1861 466,155 −0.15% 1872 446,603 −0.39% 1881 438,917 −0.19% 1891 429,737 −0.21% 1901 422,699 −0.16% 1911 419,370 −0.08% 1921 389,235 −0.74%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1931 384,619 −0.12% 1936 388,519 +0.20% 1946 412,214 +0.59% 1954 420,393 +0.25% 1962 443,019 +0.66% 1968 461,839 +0.70% 1975 490,385 +0.86% 1982 504,768 +0.41% 1990 513,654 +0.22% 1999 529,851 +0.35% 2006 553,484 +0.63% 2011 565,718 +0.44% 2016 567,561 +0.07%
source:

Politics

The department was the electoral base of former Prime Minister François Fillon, who since 2012 sits in the National Assembly of France for a constituency in central Paris. The president of the Departmental Council is Dominique Le Mèner, elected in 2015.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Election		Winning Candidate	Party	%	2nd Place Candidate	Party	%
	2022	Emmanuel Macron	LREM	55.41	Marine Le Pen	FN	44.59
	2017	Emmanuel Macron	LREM	63.33	Marine Le Pen	FN	36.67
	2012	François Hollande	PS	52.67	Nicolas Sarkozy	UMP	47.33
	2007	Nicolas Sarkozy	UMP	50.42	Ségolène Royal	PS	49.58
	2002	Jacques Chirac	RPR	84.43	Jean-Marie Le Pen	FN	15.57
	1995	Lionel Jospin	PS	50.79	Jacques Chirac	RPR	49.21

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency		Member	Party
	Sarthe's 1st constituency	Damien Pichereau	La République En Marche!
	Sarthe's 2nd constituency	Marietta Karamanli	Socialist Party
	Sarthe's 3rd constituency	Pascale Fontenel-Personne	La République En Marche!
	Sarthe's 4th constituency	Elise Leboucher	LFI
	Sarthe's 5th constituency	Jean-Carles Grelier	The Republicans

Tourism

• 
  Gallo-Roman walls and Cathedral in Le Mans
• 
  Stained glass in Le Mans Cathedral
• 
  The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest continuing sports car race in endurance racing.
• 
  Church of La Ferté-Bernard
• 
  Château du Lude
• 
  Château de Courtanvaux

See also

• Arrondissements of the Sarthe department
• Cantons of the Sarthe department
• Circuit de la Sarthe (cycling), an annual road cycling race
• Circuit de la Sarthe, a motor racing track
• Communes of the Sarthe department
• History of Le Lude
• Gallo-Roman enclosure of Le Mans

External links

• Prefecture (in French)
• Departmental Council (in French)
• Sarthe information (in French)