Charente-Maritime (Department, France)

Last modified: 2024-03-16 by olivier touzeau
Keywords: charente-maritime |
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Flag of Charente-Maritime - Image by Ivan Sache, 26 September 2009

• Administrative data
• Flag of Charente-Maritime
• Fire service in Charente-Maritime
• Municipalities

  La Rochelle Ars-en-Ré Aytré Beauvais-sur-Matha Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré La Brée-les-Bains Le Château-d'Oléron Châtelaillon-Plage Dompierre-sur-Mer La Flotte Médis Port-des-Barques

  Rivedoux-Plage Rochefort Royan Saint-Denis-d'Oléron Saintes Saint-Georges-de-Didonne Saint-Georges-d'Oléron Saint-Martin-de-Ré Saint-Pierre-d'Oléron Saint-Trojan-les-Bains La Tremblade

• Intermunicipal Authorities
  • Communautés d'agglomération
  • Communautés de communes
• Sports clubs
  • Yacht clubs
  • Other sports clubs

See also:

• France
• France: Metropolitan departments
• Clickable map of France (departments)

Administrative data

Code: 17
Region: Nouvelle-Aquitaine (Poitou-Charentes until 2014)
Traditional provinces: Aunis, Saintonge, Poitou
Bordering departments: Charente, Gironde, Deux-Sèvres, Vendée

Area: 6,864 km²
Population (2016): 642,191 inhabitants

Préfecture: La Rochelle
Sous-préfectures: Jonzac, Rochefort, Saintes, Saint-Jean d'Angély
Subdivisions: 5 arrondissements, 27 cantons, 463 municipalities.

The department is named after river Charente (360 km), a tributary to the Atlantic Ocean. Formerly known as Charente-Inférieure (Lower Charente), the department was renamed to Charente-Maritime on 4 September 1941.

Ivan Sache, 11 April 2019

Flag of Charente-Maritime

In 2008, the General Council changed the department's logo and flag. The current flag is white with blue-white-green stripes on top and bottom, with proportions 13:2:7:106:7:2:13 and, in the middle, elements of the logo of the Department.

The logo of the Department of Charente-Maritime is made of two birds, blue and green, respectively, flanked in NW by a golden quarter of circle and with the writing "la / Charente / Maritime" in blue letters. On the flag, the writing appears as "la Charente / Maritime" on the left of the birds.
The two birds already appeared on the previous logo of the department.

Former flag of Charente-Maritime - Image by Pascal Gross, 12 August 2000

The official symbolism of the flag is the following:

Two seagulls are flying in unison. The land bird is green, the sea bird is blue. In Charente-Maritime, land and sea are the assets of our success and the promises for our future. This symbol of harmony and balance is inviting all the inhabitants and friends of Charente-Maritime to unite in order to support Charente-Maritime and take part to its flight.

Ivan Sache, 15 September 2001, after information kindly provided by Cécile Cassara (PR Director of the General Council of Charente-Maritime)