thumb|250px|The Château de Boisclaireau, residence of the [[Castle of Boisclaireau|Gueroust family, Counts of Boisclaireau, in Sarthe.]]

Sarthe () 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 566,733 in 2023.

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 2023, there are 6 communes with more than 8,000 inhabitants:

{| class=wikitable

! Commune

! Population (2023)

|-

| Le Mans

| style="text-align: center;" | 146,249

|-

| La Flèche

| style="text-align: center;" | 14,947

|-

| Sablé-sur-Sarthe

| style="text-align: center;" | 12,326

|-

| Allonnes

| style="text-align: center;" | 10,739

|-

| La Ferté-Bernard

| style="text-align: center;" | 8,740

|-

| Coulaines

| style="text-align: center;" | 8,121

|}

Demographics

Population development since 1801:

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

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2022

| Emmanuel Macron

| LREM

| 55.41

| Marine Le Pen

| FN

| 44.59

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2017

| Emmanuel Macron

| LREM

| 63.33

| Marine Le Pen

| FN

| 36.67

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2012

| François Hollande

| PS

| 52.67

| Nicolas Sarkozy

| UMP

| 47.33

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2007

| Nicolas Sarkozy

| UMP

| 50.42

| Ségolène Royal

| PS

| 49.58

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| 2002

| Lionel Jospin

| PS

| 50.79

| Jacques Chirac

| RPR

| 49.21

|}

Current National Assembly Representatives

{| class="wikitable"

|-

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

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Sarthe's 1st constituency

| Julie Delpech

| Renaissance

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Sarthe's 2nd constituency

| Marietta Karamanli

| Socialist Party

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Sarthe's 3rd constituency

| Éric Martineau

| MoDem

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Sarthe's 4th constituency

| Élise Leboucher

| La France Insoumise

|-

|style="background-color: " |

| Sarthe's 5th constituency

| Jean-Carles Grelier

| Renaissance

|}

Tourism

<gallery>

File:Le Mans muraille Gallo Romaine nord-est.JPG|Gallo-Roman walls and Cathedral in Le Mans

File:Le Mans - St Julien SGW (large version).jpg|Stained glass in Le Mans Cathedral

File:908 lm2008 montagny.jpg|The 24 Hours of Le Mans is the world's oldest continuing sports car race in endurance racing.

File:La Ferte Bernard - Eglise ND Marais 15.jpg|Church of La Ferté-Bernard

File:Le Lude castle, aerial view.jpg|Château du Lude

File:FR-GD-Courtanvaux1.JPG|Château de Courtanvaux

</gallery>

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

References

  • Prefecture
  • Departmental Council
  • Sarthe information