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Marne (department)

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Marne
Department
Prefecture building of the Marne department, in Châlons-en-Champagne
Prefecture building of the Marne department, in Châlons-en-Champagne
Flag of Marne
Flag
Coat of arms of Marne
Coat of arms
Location of Marne in France
Location of Marne in France
Coordinates: 49°00′N 04°15′E / 49.000°N 4.250°E / 49.000; 4.250
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
PrefectureChâlons-en-Champagne
SubprefecturesÉpernay
Reims
Vitry-le-François
Government
 • President of the Departmental CouncilJean-Marc Rose (DVD)[1]
Area
1
 • Total
8,162 km2 (3,151 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
 • Total
563,076
 • Rank45th
 • Density68.99/km2 (178.7/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-51
Department number51
Arrondissements4
Cantons23
Communes610
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Marne (French pronunciation: [maʁn]) is a department in the Grand Est region of France. It is named after the river Marne which flows through it. Its prefecture (capital) is Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly Châlons-sur-Marne); its subprefectures are Épernay, Reims and Vitry-le-François. It had a population of 563,076 in 2023.[3]

The Champagne vineyards producing the eponymous sparkling wine are in Marne.

Name

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The department is named after the Marne, which was called Matrona in Roman times.

History

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Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from the province of Champagne.

Marne has a long association with the French Army. The training ground of the Camp Militaire de Mailly straddles the border with the département of Aube in the south while that of the Camp de Mourmelon occupies a large area north of Châlons-en-Champagne. The smaller Camp de Moronvilliers lies to the east of Reims and the Camp Militaire de Suippes lies to the east of that. These are all located on the chalk grounds of the Champagne plateau, a feature comparable in geology but not size, with the British military training ground on Salisbury Plain.

The Battles of the Marne, where the British and French fought against Germany during World War I, took place here.

Geography

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Marne is part of the region of Grand Est; until 31 December 2015 it was in the now-former Champagne-Ardenne. It is surrounded by the departments of Ardennes, Meuse, Haute-Marne, Aube, Seine-et-Marne and Aisne.

Geologically, it divides into two distinct parts; the Upper Cretaceous chalk plain in the east and the more wooded and hilly Eocene and Oligocene in the west.

Rivers draining the department include the Marne, Vesle, Ardre and Somme-Soude. Numerous other rivers, such as the Grande and the Petite Morin rise in the department but flow mainly in others. Conversely, the Aube joins the Seine in the department of Marne.

Marne is served by Champagne-Ardenne TGV station just outside Reims on the LGV Est.

Principal towns

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The most populous commune in the department is Reims; the prefecture Châlons-en-Champagne is the second-most populous. As of 2023, there are five communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[4]

Commune Population (2023)
Reims 177,674
Châlons-en-Champagne 42,971
Épernay 22,174
Vitry-le-François 10,996
Tinqueux 10,771

Demographics

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The inhabitants of the department are called Marnais (masculine) and Marnaises (feminine) in French.

Population development since 1801:

Politics

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The president of the Departmental Council of Marne is Jean-Marc Rose (DVD), first elected in 2023.

Presidential elections (2nd round) results since 1988

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ElectionWinning candidateParty%2nd place candidateParty%
2022 Emmanuel Macron LREM 52.10 Marine Le Pen FN 47.90
2017[6] Emmanuel Macron LREM 57.01 Marine Le Pen FN 42.99
2012 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 55.31 François Hollande PS 44.69
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 59.20 Ségolène Royal PS 40.80
2002[6] Jacques Chirac RPR 79.83 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 20.17
1995[7] Jacques Chirac RPR 54.53 Lionel Jospin PS 45.47
1988[8] François Mitterrand PS 53.87 Jacques Chirac RPR 46.13

Representation in Paris

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In the National Assembly

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ConstituencyMember[9]Party
Marne's 1st Xavier Albertini HOR
Marne's 2nd Laure Miller RE
Marne's 3rd Maxime Michelet UDR
Marne's 4th Lise Magnier HOR
Marne's 5th Charles de Courson LC

In the Senate

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Senator[10]PartySince
Christian Bruyen DVD 2023
Anne-Sophie Romagny UDI 2023
Cédric Chevalier HOR 2023

Tourism

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Reims, with its cathedral in which the kings of France were traditionally crowned, is a major attraction. Others include the bird reserve on the Lake Der-Chantecoq and the fishing lakes nearby. The Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims is a major area of country recreation. In the west of the département there are many scenic routes as also are the several wine cellars of Épernay.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE.
  4. ↑ Populations de référence 2023: 51 Marne, INSEE
  5. ↑ "Historique de la Marne". Le SPLAF.
  6. 1 2 "Présidentielles". Ministère de l'Intérieur. Archived from the original on Feb 13, 2024.
  7. ↑ "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle de 1995 par département - Politiquemania".
  8. ↑ "Résultats de l'élection présidentielle 1988 2e tour, par département". Ecpmlangues.unistra.fr. Retrieved 17 August 2026.
  9. ↑ Assemblée nationale. "Assemblée nationale ~ Les députés, le vote de la loi, le Parlement français". Assemblée nationale (in French).
  10. ↑ Sénat. "Liste par département" (in French).
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