Seine-et-Marne

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Seine-et-Marne

Seine-et-Marne is a French département, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France région.

History

The department was created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789 to separate from the Île de France department.

Geography

Seine-et-Marne forms a part of the Île-de-France region, the department forms the eastern half of the region and because of this accounts for 49% of Île-de-France. The department is bordered by Val-d'Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis, Val-de-Marne, Essonne to the West; Loiret and Yonne to the South; Aube and Marne to the East; and Aisne and Oise to the North.

The department has many natural reserves, notably Brie and Gâtinais.

Principal Towns include: Chelles , Torcy, Pontault-Combault, Lagny-sur-Marne, Coulommiers, Nemours, Meaux, Melun, Montereau-Fault-Yonne, Brie-Comte-Robert, Provins, Fontainebleau as well as the new towns of Marne-la-Vallée and Sénart.

The highest point of the departement is Saint-George’s Hill (215 m).

Climate

Seine-et-Marne is known for its temperate atlantic climate. The average rainfall is judged upon that of Fontainebleau, giving an average rainfall of 650 mm, which is higher than the average of Île-de-France (600 mm). Average temperature in Melun during the period 1953-2002 for January is 3.2°C and 18.6°C for July. The storm of 26 December 1999 led to five deaths in Seine-et-Marne and caused several trees to fall.

Economy

With 60% of the region used as farmland, Seine-et-Marne is the only part of Île-de-France in which agriculture occurs. Cereals and sugar beet are the principle exports from Seine-et-Marne. The other key industrial structures are the refinery at Grandpuits and the SNECMA research plant. The two new towns are the centre of tourism for the department, mainly due to the theme parks such as Disneyland Resort Paris

Demographics

People from Seine-et-Marne are know as the Seine-et-Marnais.

Originally Seine-et-Marne was very rural, but the population has tripled in 50 years, a key reason being the development of the Paris conurbation and the building of new towns. The population was estimated to be 1,240,000 inhabitants in 2004. The region has changed from consisting only of small villages to forming a large part of the Paris conurbation.

Tourism

External links

Château de Fontainebleau (in English)