Marne () 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.

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

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

History 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 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 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:Populations de référence 2023: 51 Marne, INSEE

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

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

Population development since 1801:

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

Presidential elections (2nd round) results since 1988 ElectionWinning candidateParty%2nd place candidateParty% 2022 Emmanuel Macron LREM 52.10 Marine Le Pen FN 47.90 2017 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 Jacques Chirac RPR 79.83 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 20.17 1995 Jacques Chirac RPR 54.53 Lionel Jospin PS 45.47 1988 François Mitterrand PS 53.87 Jacques Chirac RPR 46.13

Representation in Paris In the National Assembly ConstituencyMemberParty 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 SenatorPartySince Christian Bruyen DVD 2023 Anne-Sophie Romagny UDI 2023 Cédric Chevalier HOR 2023

Tourism 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 Arrondissements of the Marne department Cantons of the Marne department Champagne Riots Communes of the Marne department French wine

References

External links

Prefecture website Departmental Council website Official Tourist Board