Cholet 5.91

Cholet is a commune of western France in the Maine-et-Loire department. It was the capital of military Vendée.DemographicsIn 1906 the population was 16,554, and 54,632 in 2006.GeographyCholet stands on an eminence on the right bank of the Moine, which used to be crossed by a bridge from the fifteenth century. It is about 50 km southeast of Nantes.HistoryThe town owes the rise of its prosperity to the settlement of weavers there by Édouard Colbert, count of Maulévrier, a brother of the great Jean-Baptiste Colbert. It then became an estate of Gabriel François, Count de Rougé and Marquess of Cholet, who developed the city and its economy. The main commercial mall being built this year is named after him: The "Arcades Rougé".During the early years of the French revolutionary wars, the town found itself at the heart of the counter-revolutionary struggle in the Vendée, culminating in October 1793 with the Battle of Cholet which was won by the republicans and followed by a period of brutal government repression.Cholet hosted Stage 4 (Individual Time Trial) and was the departure of Stage 5 in the 2008 Tour de France.