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Finistère
—  Department  —
Coat of arms
Location of Finistère in France
Coordinates: 48°15′N 04°00′W / 48.25°N 4°W / 48.25; -4Coordinates: 48°15′N 04°00′W / 48.25°N 4°W / 48.25; -4
Country	France
Region	Brittany
Prefecture	Quimper
Subprefectures	Brest Châteaulin Morlaix
Government
• President of the General Council	Pierre Maille (PS)
Area1
• Total	6,733 km2 (2,600 sq mi)
Population (2007)[1]
• Total	886,500
• Rank	24th
• Density	130/km2 (340/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	29
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	54
Communes	283
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Finistère (French pronunciation: [fi.nis.tɛʁ]; Breton: Penn-ar-Bed) is a département of France, in the extreme west of Brittany.

History[link]

The name Finistère derives from the Latin Finis Terræ, meaning end of the earth, and may be compared with Land's End on the opposite side of the English Channel. The Breton name for Finistère Penn ar Bedd translates as Head/End of the World and is cognate with the Cornish equivalent for Land's End Pen-an-Wlas (Head/End of the country).^[2] Finistère is not to be confused with Finisterre in Spain.

The present department consists of the historical region of Léon and parts of Cornouaille and Trégor.

Geography[link]

The largest population center in Finistère is Brest. Other large towns in the department include Quimper (the capital), Morlaix, Carhaix, and Douarnenez. Finistère includes the island of Ushant (Eusa in Breton, Ouessant in French).

Finistère is the westernmost region of France (excluding the overseas departments). By several criteria, Finistère can also claim to be the most coastal department in Metropolitan France. Of its 283 communes, 118 are located on the coast. Its total coastline of approximately 1,250 km (776.71 mi) accounts for almost a quarter of the entire French coast-line.

Map of Finistère

The abers, rugged fjord-like inlets on the north coast, are a notable feature of the landscape.

The westernmost point of continental France, known as the Pointe de Corsen, extends from the northwestern tip of Finistère. A few miles to the south is the slightly less westerly, but rugged and isolated, headland of Pointe du Raz.

Economy[link]

Agriculture, food processing and various related industries occupy an important place in Finistère's economy.

The military presence in Finistère (Île Longue nuclear submarine base; Naval Air base of Lanvéoc-Poulmic), as well as military-related industries such as the Brest headquarters of DCNS employ a significant number of the département's population.

The port of Roscoff links Brittany by ferry with Ireland and Great Britain.

Culture[link]

Finistère is the area where Breton survives most strongly as a spoken language. Breton-speaking schools are called Diwan, Divyezh and Dihun.

The Festival de Cornouaille, which takes place in Quimper, is a celebration of Breton music and traditions.

One of the highlights of summer in Finistère is the "Festival des Vieilles Charrues" held in Carhaix-Plouguer where major international stars attract tens of thousands of spectators. [1]

The painter Raymond Wintz (1884–1956) depicted many locations around Finistère.

Politics[link]

The President of the General Council is Pierre Maille of the Socialist Party.

See also[link]

Brittany portal

• Cantons of the Finistère department
• Communes of the Finistère department
• Arrondissements of the Finistère department
• Ys

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Finistère

• (French) General Council website
• (French) Prefecture website
• (English) Finistere at the Open Directory Project
• (French) Finistère Tourisme, agence de développement touristique du Finistère

Les Innocents was a French rock band, quartet led by Jean-Philippe Nataf (named Jipé, sing) and Jean-Christophe Urbain (named Jean-Chri, sing and keyboards) from 1982 to 1999. Former members are Rico (bass) and Pierre Morin (drums).

Biography[link]

Founded in 1982 in Lille, the group is, like most rock bands, a story of friends. Les Innocents made their first success with the single "Jodie" (1987), and their first album Cent Mètres au Paradis (1989).^[1] In 1992 they produced their album Fous à lier, which became their first major success.^[2] The next album, Post Partum, confirmed their talent and popularity, and took them to the peak of their fame. "Colore" was one of the most aired singles of 1996. The name is a tribute to the English group The Clash, who gave "anonymous" concerts under that name.

Les Innocents separated in 2000, in part because of lukewarm reception to their latest album, as well as some internal musical differences. JP Nataf continues a solo career.

In 2003, they released a best of.^[1]

Jean-Philippe Nataf and Jean-Christophe Urbain are close friends of the singer Jil Caplan, with whom they have worked.

Members[link]

• from 1982 to June 1988 : JP Nataf (Jipé), Rico, Bertrand Sansonetti (Tramber), Pierre Morin
• from June 1988 to 1990 : JP Nataf (Jipé), Rico, Jean-Christophe Urbain (Jean-Chri)
• from 1990 to 1995 : JP Nataf (Jipé), Rico, Jean-Christophe Urbain (Jean-Chri), Michael Rushton
• from 1996 to 1999 : JP Nataf (Jipé), Jean-Christophe Urbain (Jean-Chri), Michael Rushton, Bernard Viguié, Christopher Board.

• Bertrand Sansonetti has released one album in 1991, Saint-Lazare, in which featues Le carrousel.
• Pierre Morin has released two albums : La Fidélité mon amour in 1991 and Free Vol in 1995.

Discography[link]

References[link]

This article incorporates information from the revision as of 2008-02-10 of the equivalent article on the French Wikipedia.

Cyril Gautier

Personal information
Full name	Cyril Gautier
Born	(1987-09-26) 26 September 1987 (age 24) Plouagat, France
Team information
Current team	Team Europcar
Discipline	Road, track
Role	Rider
Professional team(s)
2007–2008 2009–	Bretagne-Armor Lux Bbox Bouygues Telecom
Major wins
U23 European Championships (2008)
Infobox last updated on 25 March 2012

Cyril Gautier (born 26 September 1987 in Plouagat) is a French road bicycle racer for UCI Professional Continental team Team Europcar.

Palmares[link]

External links[link]

• Profile on team website
• Profile on cyclingwebsite.net

This biographical article related to French cycling is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Nolwenn Leroy
Leroy performing in Paris on Bastille Day 2011
Background information
Born	(1982-09-28) 28 September 1982 (age 29)
Origin	Saint-Renan, France
Genres	Pop, world
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Years active	2000 – present
Labels	Universal International Mercury France
Website	Official Website

Nolwenn Leroy, (born 28 September 1982 in Saint-Renan, Finistère, Brittany), is a French singer and songwriter, discovered by the French television reality show Star Academy. She is best known for her two Number One singles "Cassé" and "Nolwenn Ohwo!".^[1]

Biography[link]

Leroy's parents left Saint-Renan, with her, when she was four years old. After living in Paris, Lille, and Guingamp, her mother Murielle Leroy and her younger sister settled with Leroy's grandparents in Saint-Yorre. Her mother had been divorced from her father, professional footballer Jean-Luc Le Magueresse, in 1993.^[2]

She studied at the "Collège des Célestins" in Vichy. When Leroy was eleven, her music teacher noticed her musical talents and encouraged her to learn the violin. At the age of thirteen she won "Les écoles du désert", a contest sponsored by the Cora supermarket chain, consequently travelling with a humanitarian mission from Gao to Timbuktu, Mali; she later claimed this had a profound influence on her.^[2]

In July 1998, she was awarded a scholarship by the Vichy Rotary Club to travel to Cincinnati, Ohio, as an exchange student. While there, she also attended the Performing Arts School.^[2] Returning to France, and speaking fluent English, she began classical singing classes at the Vichy music conservatory. From 2001 she studied law at the University of Clermont-Ferrand, for a potential alternative career to music.^[2]

[edit] Star Academy

Having watched the first series of Star Academy in 2001, Leroy was impressed by Armande Altaï, one of the show's judges, and decided to try to join Altaï's singing classes.^{[citation needed]} In 2002, after applying, and being selected, for the second season of the show, the French public voted and made her the overall winner, ahead of her fellow finalist, Houcine.

Recordings[link]

Nolwenn (2003)[link]

Leroy's first album, Nolwenn, was released in March 2003 and was certified a Platinum record by November that year^[3] indicating that more than 300,000 copies had been sold.^[4] In 2006, the Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique awarded a Double-Platinum certificate for more than 600,000 sold items.^[5] Four songs from the album, "Cassé", "Une Femme cachée", "Suivre une étoile" and "Inévitablement" were released as singles. From December 2003, songs from the album were performed on Leroy's tours of France, Belgium and Switzerland.

Histoires Naturelles (2005)[link]

Leroy's second album, Histoires Naturelles, was produced by Laurent Voulzy. Five singles were released from the album. "Nolwenn Ohwo!", written by Alain Souchon and Voulzy, topped the French music charts.^[6] The second single was the title track, "Histoire Naturelle". Music videos were made for both songs; the video for "Histoire Naturelle" expressed the main theme of the album with Leroy being portrayed as natural history museum exhibits. Of the other single releases, "Mon Ange" was distributed digitally while "J'aimais tant l'aimer" and "Reste Encore" were promotional-only. Songs from Histoires Naturelles and Nolwenn were performed on Leroy's second tour entitled "Histoires Naturelles Tour", which started in September 2006. Leroy's first live album was subsequently released in late October 2007.

Le Cheshire Cat & Moi (2009)[link]

Le Cheshire Cat & Moi was a project that began in 2007, co-written by Leroy and Teitur Lassen, with contributions from Jonatha Brooke, Michelle Featherstone, Mike Errico and Rupert Hine. It was arranged and produced by Lassen, and recorded in Sweden and the Faroe Islands. Leroy was observed to feature "a lighter sound than on previous releases"^[7] and the album gave the opportunity for her to write all the lyrics.^[2] The album was released in December 2009. A tour entitled "Le Cheshire Cat & Vous" to promote the record was held in 2010.

Bretonne (2010)[link]

Leroy performing at the 2010 Francofolies in Spa (Belgium).

Leroy released a fourth studio album, Bretonne, on 6 December 2010. Cover versions of traditional celtic songs such as "Mná na h-Éireann", and contemporary songs such as Christophe Miossec's "Brest" were included on the album. Most of the songs related to Brittany, the singer's birthplace, four sung in Breton. Leroy collaborated with Jon Kelly for the musical arrangements.^[8] The album topped the French album charts for 7 weeks.

The album was re-released in November 2011 as a Deluxe Edition which added 7 English language tracks, including "Amazing Grace", "Scarborough Fair" and two Mike Oldfield tracks, "Moonlight Shadow" and "To France"

Research[link]

Leroy's music was studied for its neurological impact in geriatric populations.^[9][10][11] Researchers found that Leroy's recordings might have a more beneficial effect than other music, noting that: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy was found to be significantly superior to other music tested". To describe the phenomenon they coined the term the Nolwenn Effect, saying: "the music of Nolwenn Leroy appears to have a different effect on brain-based modulation of gait and stance than other music tested to date".

Mozart and Dutch and French singers were tested; only Mozart and Leroy's music were specified. The U.S. study was completed in February 2008, but no substantial results appear to be published.^[12]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

* French Download Charts^[16] and Belgium Ultratip^[17]
– Shows that the single did not chart or was not released as it was a promotional single

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Nolwenn Leroy

• Official Nolwenn Leroy website
• Unofficial Nolwenn Leroy website
• Nolwenn Leroy fan forum
• Nolwenn Leroy: online radio