Orne

Orne (French pronunciation: [ɔʁn] (listen); Norman: Ôrne or Orne) is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.[3]

Orne
Department
Prefecture building of the Orne department, in Alençon
Flag
Coat of arms
Location of Orne in France
Coordinates: 48°42′N 0°0′E
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
PrefectureAlençon
SubprefecturesArgentan
Mortagne-au-Perche
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilChristophe de Balorre[1]
Area
1
 • Total6,103 km2 (2,356 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2019)[2]
 • Total279,942
 • Rank78th
 • Density46/km2 (120/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
Department number61
Arrondissements3
Cantons21
Communes385
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

History

Orne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche. It is the birthplace of Charlotte Corday, Girondist and the assassin of Jean-Paul Marat.

Geography

Orne is in the region of Normandy neighbouring Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, Manche, Mayenne, and Calvados. It is the only department of Normandy not to border the Atlantic Ocean.

Economy

The largest town by a considerable margin is the prefecture, Alençon, which is an administrative and commercial centre for what is still an overwhelmingly rural department. There is no large industrial centres, and agriculture remains the economic focus.

Demographics
Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1801395,738—    
1806424,669+1.42%
1821422,884−0.03%
1831441,881+0.44%
1841442,072+0.00%
1851439,884−0.05%
1861423,350−0.38%
1872398,250−0.55%
1881376,126−0.63%
1891354,387−0.59%
1901326,952−0.80%
1911307,433−0.61%
1921274,814−1.12%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1931273,717−0.04%
1936269,331−0.32%
1946273,181+0.14%
1954274,862+0.08%
1962280,549+0.26%
1968288,524+0.47%
1975293,523+0.25%
1982295,472+0.09%
1990293,204−0.10%
1999292,337−0.03%
2006292,874+0.03%
2011290,891−0.14%
2016285,308−0.39%
Sources:[4][5]

The inhabitants of the department are called Ornais.

The recorded population level peaked at 443,688 in 1836. Declining farm incomes and the lure of better prospects in the overseas empire led to a sustained reduction in population levels in many rural departments. By the time of the 1936 census, the recorded population stood at just 269,331. Once motor car ownership started to surge in the 1960s, employment opportunities became less restricted and by 1982, the population level had recovered a little to 295,000, after which it slowly decreased.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Alençon, the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:[3]

Commune Population (2019)
Alençon 25,870
Flers 14,762
Argentan 13,395
L'Aigle 7,961
La Ferté Macé 5,186

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Christophe de Balorre, elected in 2017.

Presidential elections 2nd round
ElectionWinning CandidateParty%2nd Place CandidateParty%
2022[6] Emmanuel Macron LREM 55.12 Marine Le Pen RN 44.88
2017 Emmanuel Macron LREM 61.64 Marine Le Pen FN 38.36
2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 52.89 François Hollande PS 47.11
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 57.66 Ségolène Royal PS 42.34
2002[7] Jacques Chirac RPR 81.30 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 18.70

Current National Assembly Representatives
ConstituencyMember[8]Party
Orne's 1st constituency Joaquim Pueyo Socialist Party
Orne's 2nd constituency Véronique Louwagie The Republicans
Orne's 3rd constituency Jérôme Nury The Republicans

Culture

Alençon is the chief town of the Orne department.

Camembert, the village where Camembert cheese is made, is located in Orne.

The local dialect is known as Augeron.

Tourism
  • Château de Carrouges
  • Château de Domfront
  • Abbey of Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois
  • Juvigny-sous-Andaine
  • Camembert
  • Haras national du Pin

See also
  • Cantons of the Orne department
  • Communes of the Orne department
  • Arrondissements of the Orne department
  • Haras National du Pin, a French stud farm

References
  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. "Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 29 December 2021.
  3. Populations légales 2019: 61 Orne, INSEE
  4. "Historique de l'Orne". Le SPLAF.
  5. "Évolution et structure de la population en 2016". INSEE.
  6. "Résultats élections: Orne". Le Monde.
  7. "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle 2002: Orne". Ministère de l'Intérieur.
  8. Nationale, Assemblée. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale.
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