FRANCE 98 – Nantes
A City of Irresistible Charm Over the centuries, Nantes has thrived by making the most of its strategic position at a natural cross-roads between the land and the sea. The castle that was once the residence of the Dukes of Brittany is now undergoing a major restoration. It was here, four centuries ago, that Henri IV signed the Edict of Nantes, formally recognising the right to individual choice. With its position by the sea, the city developed into one of France’s major ports. While maritime and naval activity have now moved downstream to Saint-Nazaire, the entire estuary has joined forces and turned Nantes-Atlantique into the metropolitan centre for the west of France. Breeding talent
An amazing place Another attraction is the “Folles Journées” at the Cité des Congrès where thousands gather to listen to the music of a chosen composer. NANTES IN THE RUN-UP TO THE WORLD CUP The city sees the World Cup as an opportunity to offer visitors, both French and international, the very best of what the region has to offer, so they go home with fond memories and dream of coming back one day, to explore further and to learn more. It has been Nantes’ intention, ever since news broke that it had been chosen as a host city, to open its doors to everyone. The capital of the Loire region wasted no time when it came to taking up the challenge. Football is a tradition here and the “nantaise” style of play universally recognised by fans of the game. For Nantes, it certainly won’t be difficult to drum up World Cup enthusiasm within the local communities.
Football, conveying true values Giant celebrations in Nantes! Nantes is also host to a quite amazing theatre troupe named the “Royal de Luxe.” The troupe, which won the 1996 grand theatre award, will be providing the creative input to make the “giant,” a huge ten metre tall puppet that walks through the city acting out a series of scenes. In the Summer of 1998, the Giant will be galvanising the streets as it tell tales of travels in Africa, a continent where football is of paramount importance. As Nantes will be host to Brazil during the first stages of the competition, the municipal authorities have decided to build a copy of the famous Brazilian beach, Copacabana, in the heart of the city. Tons of golden sand will transform the former home of the Dukes of Brittany into a citadel for football. |
POPULATION Inner city: 244,500 habitants Urban area: 499,200 habitants Mayor: Jean-Marc Ayrault THE CLUB F.C. Nantes-Atlantique 7 France Championship Titles 1 French Cup
TOURISM CITY LIFE
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he estuary has a healthy economy that has been undergoing radical change. Every industry within the service sector is established here, e.g. medicine, administration, finance, information technology and trade, which makes Nantes the second most important French city for the service industry. The estuary itself, the fourth most important industrial region in France, is home to an array of engineering companies (maritime, mechanical, electronics, I.T.) as well as the food and timber industries. In an environment which promotes get-up-and-go, talent and success stories can be found in abundance. A busy port, decentralised expansion facilitated by the TGV high-speed train links and a network of training and research centres made up of 2,000 researchers and 43,000 students all contribute to Nantes’ considerable reputation. Every year a thousand engineers graduate from the various tertiary industry institutions in the area.
n 1998, Nantes will celebrate the 400th anniversary of the signing of the Edict of Nantes. And what better way could there be of conveying to the world and the youth of today the message contained in this edict of tolerance than by sport? To achieve this, the city has launched a “Supporters Charter” programme for school-children in the ten cities in the World cup programme: a charter based on the principle of tolerance, a key rule in sport and in particular in football.
hat was once the LU biscuit factory, and is now part of the city’s industrial heritage, is to be taken over to become a meeting place and entertainment area for the World Cup, where young people can get together, swap ideas and experiences and discover something new.