Ille-et-Vilaine

Ille-et-Vilaine (; ; ) is a department of France, located in the region of Brittany in the northwest of the country. It is named after its two main rivers, the Ille and the Vilaine. It had a population of 1,120,666 in 2023.

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

| Rennes

| style="text-align: center;" | 230,890

| Saint-Malo

| style="text-align: center;" | 47,439

| Fougères

| style="text-align: center;" | 20,307

| Bruz

| style="text-align: center;" | 19,683

| Vitré

| style="text-align: center;" | 19,365

| Cesson-Sévigné

| style="text-align: center;" | 18,761

Demographics

The population has grown steadily since the 1960s, reaching 1.1 million in 2023.

Population development since 1801:

Language

Gallo is a historic minority language spoken in eastern Brittany. Gallo and Breton are both studied at the University of Rennes.

Breton

Historically, the Breton language was little spoken in the eastern part of Brittany, and this was one of the first regions where the language disappeared such that Breton was not spoken for many centuries.

Today, Breton is again spoken due to schools teaching Breton, and due to a small immigration from Western Brittany to Eastern Brittany, where there are more cities with growing industries and external investment and therefore more work. A recent study shows that Breton speakers in this region represent 3.3% of the total number of Breton speakers. The Breton speakers aged 18–30 in this region represent 12.7% of the total number of Breton speakers of that age group. This is because there are relatively few elder speakers but many people are learning the language. The study says that about 1,800 people are learning it (this includes one Diwan school in Rennes, some bilingual public and catholic schools, and evening courses).

Politics

The President of the Departmental Council is the Socialist Jean-Luc Chenut since the 2015 French departmental elections, re-elected in 2021.

The city of Rennes and its suburbs are the original base of the rapid Socialist growth in the department. The city has been governed by Socialist Mayors since 1977, notably by Edmond Hervé between 1977 and 2008. Since then, the growth of middle-class suburbs have helped the Socialists, who have been rapidly gaining strength in those formerly right-leaning areas.

The right remains strong in a strongly Catholic (clerical) area from outside Redon to Vitré or Fougères. In addition, the right is strong in the wealthy coastal area of Saint-Malo and Dinard.

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"

!colspan=2| Party || seats

! style="background-color: " |•

|Socialist Party ||align="right"| 21

! style="background-color: " |•

|Miscellaneous Left ||align="right"| 8