Economy of the English Channel

the Manche is the first French agricultural department, mainly in the field of the breeding (bovine, ovine, equine) and of the culture of fruits (apples) and vegetables (carrots, leeks, cabbages flowers).

The sea also concentrates part of the economic activities, through the Aquaculture and the port of Cherbourg-Octeville (fishing, pleasure, traffic transmanche, trade, soldier, naval construction).

For 50 years, nuclear industry has concentrated employment in North Cotentin around 3 establishments, pertaining at parapublic large companies: the Nuclear plant of Flamanville of EDF, the establishment of Cherbourg of DCNS and the Plant reprocessing of La Hague of Areva NC.

The economy manchoise rests finally on tourism, primarily balneal and seasonal.

Data générales

Total population (1999): 481.471 hab
Active population (1999): 208.240
Average revenue by household (2004) : 13 593,4 €/year
GDP : 9.591.000 000 €
GDP/hab : 19 852 €
Many applicants for work (at the 12/31/2004): 18.201
Unemployment rate (09/2006): 7,9%

Agriculture and fishing

Agriculture

The English Channel belongs to the first French agricultural departments, even the first in term of farms (6 900 professional exploitations and 15.009 total exploitations in 2003. If this number however tends to decrease quickly since nearly 3000 have disappeared between 2000 and the end of 2003, agriculture represents more than 9% of employment (employees or not).

With the largest French cattle population (745600 heads including 254000 nursing cows), the production Lait ière is there dominant (75% of the professional agricultural activity manchoise), making to the English Channel the second dairy department of France (5719 dairy producers in 2004 and 13,5 billion hectolitres produced per annum (13,57 billion hl in 2004,13,48 billion hl in 2004), within the first European dairy basin (Normandy - Brittany - Pays of the Loire). The English Channel is the cradle of the race Normande, animal known as mixed because having dairy good qualities at the same time as a conformation bouchère. If it accounts for only 43% of manpower of milch cows, against 55% for the Prim' Holstein, its qualities mixed made him found these last years, since the installation of the dairy quotas, favors of the stockbreeders.

The production of bovine meat is thus also quite present there, with calves and bull calves, breeding dedicated or in complement of the dairy production.

The zone of marsh which separates the peninsula from Cotentin of the remainder of the department is primarily dedicated to the bovine breeding. The center and the south of the English Channel are zones of the woodlands, with a dense grid of hedges. On the Herbu S of bay of the Mount-Saint-Michel, but also of the seven harbors of the English Channel, the famous sheep the pre ones feed salted. But in spite of 3 local ovine races (Avranchin, Cotentin and the Roussin of La Hague), the livestock is restricted (50 600 heads in 2003), often complement of a bovine breeding reduced by the installation of the European quotas. One also finds a breeding of important pig, particularly in the South-Handle (370 500 heads, half of the Norman production). The Handle is finally the first department for the horse, with 22000 animals, and a race assine, the ass of Cotentin. The breeding of racehorses, trot and gallop, formed integral part of the culture manchoise, with many riding schools, the National stud farm of Saint-Lo, and the Center of promotion of the breeding, around the two local equine races, the Norman Cob and the French Saddle, and the development of a dedicated industry (manufacture of vans, food for horses, saddlery…).

Market gardening

Just like the oceanic climate supports milk, the production of vegetables is also important in the department, occupying 640 exploitations. Three soils are distinguished:

the Valley of Saire, occupying the north-eastern quarter of the Peninsula of Cotentin, is a vast triangle between Cherbourg, Barfleur and Réville which produces leeks, carrots, cabbages of all kinds, salads, corn salads, radish, parsley…
the west coast, littoral stringcourse since Portbail until Carolles, where carrots and leeks are majority (of which the famous carrot of sands of Créances);
the bay of the Mount-Saint-Michel, where the vegetable producers were established on the Polder S of bay with the same diversity of cultures as in the Valley of Saire.

Production of turnips into catch, i.e. between two principal cultures (corn, corn…) is also one of the characteristics of the English Channel. The English Channel is thus the first French carrot producer and the second leek producer.

Fish and marine culture

With several ports in activity (Cherbourg and Granville is the first two fishing ports Low Normans), the English Channel is also a ground of sailors. Granville was a large wearing of departure for fishing with cod with Newfoundland.

In shouted of Cherbourg and Granville, one finds shellfish (lobster, currycomb, oil cake, spider…), of the cephalopods (cuttlefish and squid) and of the fish (gray sea-bream, ray, dogfish, plate, place, bar, red mullet, gurnard, pout, cod and Saint-Pierre).

The long littoral zone accommodates finally a large conchylaceous activity:

mytiliculture with the moulds of mussel bed (Mount-Saint-Michel) and moulds of fishing (Barfleur). The moulds of mussel bed of bay of the Mount-Saint-Michel became in 2006 the first product of the sea to obtain a Appellation of controlled origin (AOC) (for the moment limited to the Breton zones of culture).
ostreiculture, with 3 particular soils: the oyster of full sea of Blainville, on the west coast of Cotentin, between Granville with Portbail; the oyster of Saint-Vaast-the-Hougue, the oldest oyster basin of the area; and the special oyster of Isigny, in the Bay of Veys. Water of the English Channel also provides most of the oysters which are refined in the basin of Marenne oyster-Oléron.
sins it with scallop (Normandy, first area of fishing, obtained the Red Label scallop of Normandy in 2002)
the hard shell clam and the bulot (Granville), the clam (Chausey);
of the new cultures, like sources of diversification, with the Young elm (Gouville-on-sea), the sea urchin, the fissurelle …

Moreover, the Salmona company raises salmons inside the Roads of Cherbourg.

Soils

The English Channel lay out of several names of controlled origin (AOC)

the Camembert of Normandy
the Pont-l'Ev4eque cheese
the Calvados
Domfront
the Pommeau of Normandy
Beurre and cream of Isigny
Calvados domfrontais

The protected Geographical ascription (IGP), is important in the English Channel, even if it is still underdeveloped, primarily of passage and not of stay.

The attractions are multiple, that it is about the natural heritage (seaside resorts, Regional natural park of the Marshes of Cotentin and Bessin, coastguard paths), cultural (Mont Saint-Michel - 2 million visitors per annum, the Cité of the Sea, but also of the festivals like Jazz under the apple trees, Crossings of Tatihou and Chauffer in blackness) or history (Utah Beach and other places to remember the Bataille of Normandy, abbey of Lucerne…). Granville is also a center of thalassotherapy.

The English Channel is the first department in offer of rural lodgings, and accommodates many second home (70% of the offer of lodging of the English Channel).

Principal companies

The English Channel counts some industrial florets on its ground.

European dairy company

The European dairy company ( Lion-hearted ) and its Elvir subsidiary company (produced It & Transfers ), installed with Condé-sur-Vire, are the two larger companies of the department (turnover in 2005). The KEY took again to the activities of the dairy Union Norman, following his acquisition by Bongrain.

Dairy Masters of Cotentin

This co-operative produces on its sites of Sottevast, Valognes and Tribehou, the products Valco (fresh milk, Trappe of Bricquebec…), Main Slags, Montebourg, and Valley of Saire (butter).

Specialized in the ultra-fresh one, it produces 100.000 tons of dairy products (fresh, small cheese Swiss…), thanks to the 260.000 liters of milk coming from 1.100 farms, this approximately 15% of the national market represent. She works with the supermarkets and Hypermarché S (to 70%, especially under marks distributer) and the collective restoration (30%). She also has a holding, France-Expenses , gathering forty distribution companies through France. Directed by Jean-François Fort, the whole of the group weighs 650 million euros and 2.000 paid.

The company takes its source in the dairy first Coopérative S which appear in the English Channel at the beginning of the XXe century, with Gréville, Benoîtville and Tocqueville (1905), then with Barneville, Valognes, Montebourg and Quettehou in 1930. With the installation of the common Agricultural policy, these co-operatives gather little by little within the UCALMA (created in 1962) become dairy Maîtres of Cotentin in 1985.

Soleco

Acronym of Vegetable Company of Cotentin . Machine conditioning of salads and fresh vegetables ready with employment (IVe range). Creative of the marks Florette and Manon ; created with Lessay in 1985. Held by the agricultural cooperative Agrial, which essaimé thereafter by creating two other factories with Isle on Sorgue (84) and Cambric (59).

Chéreau

Founded in France in 1950 per Jean Chéreau, the company developed with Avranches, then with Ducey starting from 1980. Specialized in the realization of vehicles intended for transport under controlled temperature, it currently employs a manpower of 620 collaborators. Characteristic of the company, this one gathers a whole of processes, conceived, carried out and developed by its own department engineering. Chéreau has capacities of anticipation and development enabling him to occupy the place of leader of the refrigerated vehicle in Europe.

Saint-James Knittings

This company created in 1889 is located at Saint-James, near to the Mont Saint-Michel. Its notoriety was forged on a clothing worship, “the true Breton marine sweater knitted in pure new wool”, intended for the origin with the sea fishermen, then adopted by the large navigators and the yachtmen. The company to date counts a manpower of 320 collaborators. Its collections are exported in more the big cities of the hexagon, like with international, as well in Europe, as with the the United States (shop with New York), with the Canada or with the Japan (shops with Tokyo, Osaka, Oita, Fukuoka, Yokohama)…

Lecapitaine

Created in 1936 for the construction of carriage, Lecapitaine evolves/moves quickly after the Second world war in the trucks equipped with isothermal cases, to accompany the needs for agribusiness industry Norman under development. The company is pressed on these local customers to invest the market of the cold and the conservation, and evolves/moves with the medical standards of the sector and towards the overmeasure.

Since 2000, it is the subsidiary company of Forest the Petit group in 2000, and occupies a dominating place on the French markets and European of the freezer wagon, exporting a third of its production. Installed since 2004 on 18.000m ², the company and its annual production of more than 2.500 refrigerating body, do of them one of the large employers of the prefecture manchoise.

Acome

Company created in 1932, in co-operative form (SCOP), Acome (co-operative Association of workmen out of electrical material) became one of the largest employers of the department (1 200 paid). Based with Mortain, it is specialized in the Fiberoptic. In June 2006, the company set up a Center of expertise on very the High banc, on 10.500m ².

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