Montoire-sur-le-Loir

Montoire-sur-le-Loir

The church and pavilion

Coat of arms
Montoire-sur-le-Loir

Coordinates: 47°45′18″N 0°51′52″E / 47.755°N 0.8644°E / 47.755; 0.8644Coordinates: 47°45′18″N 0°51′52″E / 47.755°N 0.8644°E / 47.755; 0.8644
Country France
Region Centre-Val de Loire
Department Loir-et-Cher
Arrondissement Vendôme
Canton Montoire-sur-le-Loir
Intercommunality Pays de Ronsard
Area1 21.02 km2 (8.12 sq mi)
Population (1999)2 4,275
 • Density 200/km2 (530/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 41149 / 41800
Elevation 60–146 m (197–479 ft)
(avg. 70 m or 230 ft)

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

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Montoire-sur-le-Loir is a commune in the Loir-et-Cher department of central France.

The inhabitants of Montoire-sur-le-Loir are called montoiriens.

History

Montoire-sur-le-Loir is known as the location where, on 24 October 1940, the famous handshake between Adolf Hitler and Maréchal Pétain took place signifying the start of organised French collaboration with the Nazi regime. The meeting took place in a railway car just outside the town's railway station. This was announced to the French public on 30 October in a radio broadcast speech when Pétain declared, "I enter, today, into the way of collaboration."[1]

Two days previously, Pierre Laval had had a meeting with Hitler in the same location and he had suggested to Hitler that he meet with the Maréchal.

The location of Montoire station was chosen because of its relative isolation and also its proximity to the main Paris-Hendaye train line, Hitler having met with Franco at Hendaye on the 23rd. Besides, in case of an aerial attack, the train could have found shelter in the nearby tunnel in Saint-Rimay. The tunnel had armored doors, which are still visible, installed for the meeting. German command posts were established at Saint-Rimay and Thoré-la-Rochette with direct contact to Berlin.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Montoire-sur-le-Loir is twinned with:

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ "J'entre aujourd'hui dans la voie de la collaboration..." sourced from French wiki page.

External links

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This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, February 27, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.