Concarneau Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids

Concarneau

Konk-Kerne

Concarneau's harbour and centre

Flag	Coat of arms

Concarneau

Location in France

Concarneau

Location in Brittany

Country

Quimper

Concarneau

Concarneau Cornouaille Agglomération

Area

41.08 km² (15.86 sq mi)

Population

(2021)

20,607

• Density

501.63/km² (1,299.22/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+01:00 (CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+02:00 (CEST)

INSEE/Postal code

29039 /29900

Elevation

0–36 m (0–118 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Concarneau (Breton: Konk-Kerne, meaning "Bay of Cornouaille") is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in Northwestern France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt.

The city has two distinct areas: the modern town on the mainland and the medieval Ville Close, a walled town on a long island in the centre of the harbour. Historically, the old town was a centre of shipbuilding; its ramparts date from the 14th century. The Ville Close is now devoted to tourism with many restaurants and shops aimed at tourists. However restraint has been shown in resisting the excesses of souvenir shops. Also in the Ville Close is the fishing museum. The Ville Close is connected to the town by a bridge and at the other end a ferry to the village of Lanriec on the other side of the harbour.

Events
Literature
Economy
Demographics
Breton language
Sport
Personalities
International relations
Gallery
See also

Events

In August the town holds the annual Fête des Filets Bleus (Festival of the blue nets). The festival, named after the traditional blue nets of Concarneau's fishing fleet, is a celebration of Breton and pan-Celtic culture. Such festivals can occur throughout Brittany but the Filets Bleus is one of the oldest and largest, attracting in excess of a thousand participants in traditional dress with many times that number of observers. In 2005, the 100th festival was celebrated.

Literature

Concarneau was the setting for Belgian mystery writer Georges Simenon's 1931 novel Le Chien jaune (The Yellow Dog), featuring his celebrated sleuth Maigret.

Economy

Fishing, particularly for tuna, has long been the primary economic activity in Concarneau. The Les Mouettes d'Arvor is one of the last traditional canning factories in Concarneau. Concarneau is one of the biggest fishing ports in France. Since the 1980s, other industries have arisen, such as boat construction and summer tourism.

The Ville Close separates the working port from the yacht basin.

Concarneau

Demographics

Inhabitants of Concarneau are called in French Concarnois (masculine) and Concarnoises (feminine). In 1959, Concarneau absorbed the former commune Lanriec.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	2,000	—
1800	1,561	−3.48%
1806	1,608	+0.50%
1821	1,511	−0.41%
1831	1,843	+2.01%
1836	1,816	−0.29%
1841	1,984	+1.79%
1846	2,100	+1.14%
1851	2,289	+1.74%
1856	2,372	+0.71%
1861	2,767	+3.13%
1866	3,555	+5.14%
1872	4,463	+3.86%
1876	4,745	+1.54%
1881	5,191	+1.81%
1886	5,684	+1.83%
1891	5,991	+1.06%
1896	6,500	+1.64%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	7,635	+3.27%
1906	8,007	+0.96%
1911	7,263	−1.93%
1921	6,170	−1.62%
1926	5,995	−0.57%
1931	5,815	−0.61%
1936	5,878	+0.22%
1946	10,519	+5.99%
1954	10,341	−0.21%
1962	15,907	+5.53%
1968	17,801	+1.89%
1975	18,759	+0.75%
1982	17,984	−0.60%
1990	18,630	+0.44%
1999	19,453	+0.48%
2009	19,352	−0.05%
2014	19,199	−0.16%
2020	20,209	+0.86%

Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968–2020)

Breton language

In 2008, 2.16% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, where Breton language is taught alongside French.

Sport

The football club US Concarneau is based in the town.

Personalities

Michel Desjoyeaux, navigator
Samantha Davies, sailor
Guy Cotten, founder of a clothes factory
Stéphane Guivarc'h, French footballer, won the FIFA World Cup 1998 with the French national side
Théophile Deyrolle and Alfred Guillou, founders of the Concarneau Art Colony.
Valérie Hermann President of Ralph Lauren