Marne

It had a population of 563,076 in 2023. The Champagne vineyards producing the eponymous sparkling wine are in Marne.

• Name — Marne • Type — Department • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — France • Subdivision Type1 — Region • Subdivision Name1 — Grand Est • Seat Type — Prefecture • Seat — Châlons-en-Champagne • Parts Type — Subprefectures • Parts Style — para • P1 — Épernay Reims Vitry-le-François • Leader Title — President of the Departmental Council • Leader Name — Jean-Marc Rose (DVD) • Unit Pref — Metric • Area Total Km2 — 8162 • Population Rank — 45th • Population Density Km2 — auto • Custom Label Sec1 — Department number • Custom Data Sec1 — 51 • Custom Label Sec2 — Arrondissements • Custom Data Sec2 — 4 • Custom Label1 Sec2 — Cantons • Custom Data1 Sec2 — 23 • Custom Label2 Sec2 — Communes • Custom Data2 Sec2 — 610 • Time Zone1 — CET • Utc Offset1 — +1 • Time Zone1 Dst — CEST • Utc Offset1 Dst — +2 • Iso Code — FR-51 • Footnotes — area French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km 2

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

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.

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.

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

The inhabitants of the department are called Marnais (masculine) and Marnaises (feminine) in French. Population development since 1801:

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

• Election — Winning candidate — Party — % — 2nd place candidate — Party — % • 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

• Constituency — Member — 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

• Senator — Party — Since • Christian Bruyen — DVD — 2023 • Anne-Sophie Romagny — UDI — 2023 • Cédric Chevalier — HOR — 2023

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. • Illustration — The Porte de Mars in Reims, a triumphal arch from the third century AD. • Illustration — Cathedral of Reims where the kings of France were traditionally crowned • Illustration — Vineyards near Épernay • Illustration — Champagne bottles • Illustration — Valmy Battlefield • Illustration — Notre-Dame-en-Vaux collegiate church in Châlons-en-Champagne