Cherbourg-en-Cotentin

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Subprefecture and commune
	An aerial view of Cherbourg
	Location of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
	Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
	Coordinates: 49°38′20″N 1°37′30″W / 49.639°N 1.625°W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Manche
Arrondissement	Cherbourg
Canton	6 cantons
Intercommunality	CA Cotentin
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Benoît Arrivé
Area 1	68.54 km2 (26.46 sq mi)
Population (2021)	77,808
• Density	1,100/km2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	50129 /50100
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin (French pronunciation: [ʃɛʁbuʁ ɑ̃ kɔtɑ̃tɛ̃]; Norman: Tchidbouo) is a port city in the department of Manche, Normandy, northwestern France, established on 1 January 2016.^[3] The commune takes its name from Cherbourg, the main town of the commune, and the Cotentin Peninsula. Cherbourg is an important commercial, ferry and military port on the English Channel. Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is a Maritime prefecture and sub-prefecture of Manche. Due to its union, it is the most populous commune in its department with 79,144 inhabitants as of 2018 (of which 35,545 in Cherbourg-Octeville),^[4] making it the biggest city of the department before the Saint-Lô prefecture and the second in the region after Caen. Its urban unit is composed of three communes (Cherbourg-en-Cotentin, Martinvast and Tollevast),^[5] and has 81,963 inhabitants (2018). Its larger functional area (covering 77 communes) has 152,630 inhabitants (2018).^[6]

Toponymy

The onomastics of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin are, particularly for the first particle, heavily contested. Theories include descent from Latin, Gallo-Latin, Proto-Germanic, Anglo-Saxon, and Old Norse. A medieval folk etymology from *Caesaris burgis ("Caesar's town", from Julius Caesar) is easily discounted.

Administration

The municipality was established on 1 January 2016 by merger of the former communes of Cherbourg-Octeville, Équeurdreville-Hainneville, La Glacerie, Querqueville and Tourlaville.^[3] The seat of the commune is in Cherbourg. Cherbourg-Octeville was established on 28 February 2000 by merger of the former communes of Cherbourg and Octeville.^[7]

Cherbourg-en-Cotentin is part of the arrondissement of Cherbourg, and of 6 cantons: Cherbourg-en-Cotentin-1, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin-2, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin-3, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin-4, Cherbourg-en-Cotentin-5 and La Hague.^[3]^[8]

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	79,121	—
1975	82,539	+0.61%
1982	85,485	+0.50%
1990	92,045	+0.93%
1999	88,588	−0.42%
2007	85,149	−0.49%
2012	81,103	−0.97%
2017	79,200	−0.47%
Populations of the area corresponding with the commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin at 1 January 2020. Source: INSEE^[9]

Population by age and gender, 1 January 2017

90+

949

75–89

6806

60–74

13118

45–59

16534

30–44

13838

15–29

14874

0–14

13081

Total: 79200

male

female

Source: INSEE^[9]

Housing

In 2017, in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin there were 43,118 dwellings of which 88.8% of primary residences, 3.5% second homes and 7.7% vacant houses. 50.5% were houses and 48.8% were apartments.^[10] Of the 37,983 principal residences built before 2015, the largest share (35.7%) was built between 1971 and 1990. 6.6% were built between 2006 and 2014,^[10] which is much lower than the departmental rate (11.1%).^[11]

The commune shares the social housing with the Communauté d'agglomération du Cotentin. Several HLM agencies are responsible for social housing of the agglomeration: Presqu'île Habitat, Les Cités Cherbourgeoises, HLM du Cotentin, Manche Habitat and HLM Coutances Granville.^[12]