Manche (; ; Norman: ) is a coastal French department in Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as , literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by Ille-et-Vilaine and Mayenne to the south, Orne and Calvados to the east, the English Channel to the west and north and by sharing maritime borders with the Crown Dependencies of Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey of the United Kingdom to the west. It had a population of 497,522 in 2023.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Cherbourg-en-Cotentin; and the prefecture Saint-Lô is the second-most populous. As of 2023, there are six communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Cherbourg-en-Cotentin

| style="text-align: center;" | 78,258

|-

| Saint-Lô

| style="text-align: center;" | 19,471

|-

| Granville

| style="text-align: center;" | 12,510

|-

| La Hague

| style="text-align: center;" | 11,484

|-

| Carentan-les-Marais

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,218

|-

| Avranches

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,143

|}

Climate

The climate is oceanic with relatively mild winters in which temperatures go below zero only for a few days. Summer temperatures are usually around 20 °C, and can occasionally reach 35 °C in direct sunlight. Precipitation is heavy but varies greatly by region, from 700mm on the coast to 1300mm in the southern central area. Highly localised but not life-threatening flash flooding has been experienced during the last few springs.

The west coast benefits from the influence of the Gulf Stream and this has enabled the naturalization of Mediterranean and exotic plants such as mimosas, palms, and agaves.

There is often a sea breeze on the coast, which combined with tides, contributes to rapid temperature changes in the course of a single day. Sea temperatures can be very pleasant for swimming between June and October.

Demographics

Inhabitants of the department are called Manchots or Manchois in French.

Population development since 1801:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Jean Morin, elected in July 2021.

Presidential elections, 2nd round

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Election!!Winning candidate!!Party!!%!!2nd place candidate!!Party!!%

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2022

| Emmanuel Macron

| LREM

| 59.61

| Marine Le Pen

| FN

| 40.39

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2017

| Emmanuel Macron

| LREM

| 67.23

| Marine Le Pen

| FN

| 32.77

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2012

| Nicolas Sarkozy

| UMP

| 50.10

| François Hollande

| PS

| 49.90

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2007

| Nicolas Sarkozy

| UMP

| 56.17

| Ségolène Royal

| PS

| 43.83

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2002

| Jacques Chirac

| RPR

| 85.31

| Jean-Marie Le Pen

| FN

| 14.69

|}

Current National Assembly Representatives

{| class="wikitable"

|-

!colspan="2"|Constituency!!Member!!Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Manche's 1st constituency

| Philippe Gosselin

| The Republicans

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Manche's 2nd constituency

| Bertrand Sorre

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Manche's 3rd constituency

| Stéphane Travert

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Manche's 4th constituency

| Anna Pic

| Socialist Party

|}

Sports

thumb|right|200px|A neighbourhood in [[Saint-André-de-l'Épine]]

  • Football: main clubs: AS Cherbourg, US Avranches, FC Saint-Lô, US Granville, CS Villedieu, FC Équeurdreville-Hainneville...
  • Cycling: the Tour de France has visited the department 21 times with stages ending at Cherbourg (16), Avranches (2), Granville (1), Saint-Hilaire-du-Harcouët (1), and the Mont-Saint-Michel (1).
  • Sailing: the Solitaire du Figaro has come to Cherbourg several times.
  • Tennis: hosts the Challenger La Manche tournament.
  • Thai boxing: Villedieu-les-Poêles
  • Badminton: Two local clubs compete in the national championship (N3): St Hilaire du Harcouet and Hainneville.
  • Golf: course: Granville, Bréhal, Coutainville, Cherbourg, Centre Manche, Fontenay, Côte des Isles

Tourism

<gallery>

File:MontStMichel.jpg|Mont-Saint-Michel

File:Sound de chausey par mauvais temps.JPG|Chausey islands

File:Coutances vue nord.jpg|Coutances Cathedral

File:Tour Vauban, Tatihou, Saint Vaast La Hougue 01.jpg|Tour Vauban in Tatihou

File:Napoleon a Cherbourg bordercropped.jpg|Napoleon's statue in Cherbourg

Image:Le Redoutable.jpg|Le Redoutable submarine at the Cité de la Mer

File:Utah Beach 2006-Sherman.jpg|A monument of the Normandy landings in Utah Beach

</gallery>

See also

  • Cantons of the Manche department
  • Communes of the Manche department
  • Arrondissements of the Manche department
  • Cotentinais, the Norman dialect of Manche.

References

  • Prefecture website
  • Departmental Council website
  • A wiki about the Manche
  • Comité départemental du tourisme de la Manche