Loire-Atlantique (; Gallo: Louére-Atantique; ; before 1957: Loire-Inférieure,
{| class=wikitable
! Commune
! Population (2023)
|-
| Nantes
| style="text-align: center;" | 327,734
|-
| Saint-Nazaire
| style="text-align: center;" | 74,568
|-
| Saint-Herblain
| style="text-align: center;" | 50,973
|-
| Rezé
| style="text-align: center;" | 43,556
|-
| Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire
| style="text-align: center;" | 28,596
|-
| Orvault
| style="text-align: center;" | 28,534
|-
| Vertou
| style="text-align: center;" | 26,227
|}
Demographics
Population development since 1801:
Culture
Upper Brittany's indigenous language is Gallo, a romance language related to French. The number of Gallo language speakers has been in steady decline since the early 20th century. The language is neither official nor taught in primary or secondary education. In the south of the département (Pays de Retz), the local language was Poitevin dialect.
The Breton language, a Celtic language, native to Lower Brittany, was historically spoken in the western area of Loire-Atlantique, and up to 1920 in Batz-sur-Mer. This area (Guérande, Le Croisic, and La Baule) has a rather Breton toponymy: for instance, Guérande originates from the Breton Gwenn Rann (white or pure place).
The folklore and musical traditions of eastern or Upper Brittany are generally similar to those of western or Lower Brittany.
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Michel Menard, elected in July 2021.
Current Deputies of the National Assembly
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Deputy!!Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 1st constituency
| Karim Benbrahim
| Socialist Party
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 2nd constituency
| Andy Kerbrat
| La France Insoumise
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 3rd constituency
| Ségolène Amiot
| La France Insoumise
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 4th constituency
| Julie Laernoes
| The Ecologists
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 5th constituency
| Fabrice Roussel
| Socialist Party
|-
|style="background-color:#00737a" |
| Loire-Atlantique's 6th constituency
| Jean-Claude Raux
| Territories44
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 7th constituency
| Sandrine Josso
| MoDem
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 8th constituency
| Matthias Tavel
| La France Insoumise
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 9th constituency
| Jean-Michel Brard
| Miscellaneous right
|-
|style="background-color: " |
| Loire-Atlantique's 10th constituency
| Sophie Errante
| Renaissance
|}
Current Senators
{| class="wikitable"
!Senator
! colspan="2" |Party
|-
|Ronan Dantec (fr)
|
|DVG
|-
|Joël Guerriau (fr)
|
|UDI
|-
|Michelle Meunier (fr)
|
|SOC
|-
|Christophe Priou
|
|UMP
|-
|Yannick Vaugrenard
|
|SOC
|}
Political movements
The capital of the administrative region is Rennes, although Nantes is considered the capital of historic Brittany and is located in Loire-Atlantique. The reunification of historic Brittany is supported by a majority of Loire-Atlantique and is considered a prerequisite to further autonomy of Brittany as a whole.
Transport
thumb|TGV and Interloire trains in Le Croisic
The département operates the Lila network (fr) of interurban buses, which link its villages, towns and cities. The urban areas of Nantes and Saint-Nazaire operate their own urban transport networks, known as TAN and STRAN (fr) respectively.
By rail, the regional trains and buses of the TER Pays de la Loire link major towns and cities of the Pays de la Loire and adjoining regions, including those of the département. Nantes is on the TGV network, with high speed trains running to Paris by the LGV Atlantique in just over 2 hours.
Nantes Atlantique Airport, located 8 km to the southwest of the city of Nantes, serves the département and surrounding areas. It is the biggest airport in northwestern France, linking with several French, North African and European cities, as well as Montreal in Canada.
Tourism
<gallery>
File:Feydeau Nantes 2.JPG|Nantes
File:Batz-s-M St Guénolé.jpg|Stained glass-window of the church of Batz-sur-Mer
File:CroisicClocher.jpg|Le Croisic
File:Eglise notre dame clisson.jpg|Clisson
File:Le Pouliguen Grande Côte 1.jpg|Coast near Le Pouliguen
</gallery>
See also
- Cantons of the Loire-Atlantique department
- Communes of the Loire-Atlantique department
- Arrondissements of the Loire-Atlantique department
- La Baule - Guérande Peninsula
- Chantenay-sur-Loire
- Church of St Clement, Nantes
- Prefecture Building of Loire-Atlantique
- Port Lavigne