Seine-Maritime (French pronunciation: [sɛn maʁitim] ) is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inférieure. It had a population of 1,260,964 in 2023.
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History
The department of Seine-Inférieure was created from part of the old province of Normandy during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 by the application of a law of 22 December 1789.
After the victory at Waterloo of the coalition armies, the department was occupied by the British Army from June 1815 to November 1818.
In Rouen, Elbeuf and Bolbec, the number of textile factories increased. Metallurgy and naval construction were other industries in the department.
After President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's coup d'état in 1851, Seine-Inférieure was one of several departments to be placed under a state of emergency (in French, literally, state of siege) because fears of significant republican resistance to the new government.
In 1942, during the German occupation of the Second World War, two Allied raids, the Bruneval and Dieppe, took place in towns of the English Channel coast.
In 1955, the department's name was officially renamed to Seine-Maritime.
Geography
The department can be split into three main areas:
The Seine valley. The Seine flows through the provincial capital Rouen.
The chalk plateau Pays de Caux, with its abrupt coastline (the Alabaster Coast).
The Norman Pays de Bray, with its hills and bocage landscape.
Administration
The département was created in 1790 as Seine-Inférieure, one of five departements that replaced the former province of Normandy. In 1800 five arrondissements were created within the département, namely Rouen, Le Havre, Dieppe, Neufchatel and Yvetot, although the latter two were disbanded in 1926. On 18 January 1955 the name of the département was changed to Seine-Maritime, in order to provide a more positive-sounding name and in-keeping with changes made in a number of other French departements.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Le Havre, followed by the prefecture, Rouen. As of 2023, eight communes had more than 20,000 inhabitants:
Demographics
Previously lacking a demonym, the inhabitants of Seine-Maritime (as the department had been renamed in 1955) chose, following a public consultation, to be identified in official documents as "Seinomarins" (males) and "Seinomarines" (females).
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Bertrand Bellanger, elected in 2019.
Transport
In 1843 the railway from Paris reached the region.
The département is connected to the adjacent Eure department via the Tancarville and Pont de Normandie bridge crossings of the Seine.
Culture
Madame Bovary by Gustave Flaubert is set in Seine Maritime.
The novel La Place by Annie Ernaux largely takes place in Seine-Maritime and describes events and changes that take place in relation to French society in the 20th century especially in relation to the rural population.
The first story of the long-running series Valérian and Laureline is set in Seine-Maritime, with the character Laureline originating from the area.
Cauchois is the dialect of the Pays de Caux, and is one of the most vibrant forms of the Norman language beyond Cotentinais.