Францияның Луар Атлантик департаменті

Department of France

Loire Atlantique (lwaʁ atlɑ̃tik; Gallo: Louére Atantique; ; before 1957: Loire Inférieure,

Upper Brittany's indigenous language is Gallo, a romance language related to French. The number of Gallo language speakers has been in steady decline since the early 20th century. The language is neither official nor taught in primary or secondary education. In the south of the département (Pays de Retz), the local language was Poitevin dialect. The Breton language, a Celtic language, native to Lower Brittany, was historically spoken in the western area of Loire Atlantique, and up to 1920 in Batz sur Mer. This area (Guérande, Le Croisic, and La Baule) has a rather Breton toponymy: for instance, Guérande originates from the Breton Gwenn Rann (white or pure place). The folklore and musical traditions of eastern or Upper Brittany are generally similar to those of western or Lower Brittany.

The president of the Departmental Council is Michel Menard, elected in July 2021.

The capital of the administrative region is Rennes, although Nantes is considered the capital of historic Brittany and is located in Loire Atlantique. The reunification of historic Brittany is supported by a majority of Loire Atlantique and is considered a prerequisite to further autonomy of Brittany as a whole.

The département operates the Lila network (fr) of interurban buses, which link its villages, towns and cities. The urban areas of Nantes and Saint Nazaire operate their own urban transport networks, known as TAN and STRAN (fr) respectively. By rail, the regional trains and buses of the TER Pays de la Loire link major towns and cities of the Pays de la Loire and adjoining regions, including those of the département. Nantes is on the TGV network, with high speed trains running to Paris by the LGV Atlantique in just over 2 hours. Nantes Atlantique Airport, located 8 km to the southwest of the city of Nantes, serves the département and surrounding areas. It is the biggest airport in northwestern France, linking with several French, North African and European cities, as well as Montreal in Canada.