Coordinates: 46°40′14″N 1°25′34″W / 46.6705°N 1.426°W / 46.6705; -1.426

La Roche-sur-Yon (pronounced: [la ʁɔʃ syʁ jɔ̃]) is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France.

It is the capital of the department. Its inhabitants are called Yonnais.

The town expanded significantly after Napoleon I had chosen the site as the new préfecture of the Vendée on 25 May 1804, replacing Fontenay-le-Comte (then under its revolutionary name of Fontenay-le-Peuple). At the time, most of La Roche had been eradicated in the Vendée Revolt (1793–96); the renamed Napoléonville was laid out and a fresh population of soldiers and civil servants was brought in. Napoléonville was designed to accommodate 15,000 people. In 1854, La Roche was described in an English guide as "the dullest town in France".

The town was called successively:

The river Yon flows southward through the commune and crosses the town.

The Communauté d'Agglomération "La Roche-sur-Yon Agglomération" contains 15 communes:

François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (French pronunciation: [fʁɑ̃swa ɔlɑ̃d]; born 12 August 1954) is the 24th President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He previously served as the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party from 1997 to 2008 and as a Deputy of the National Assembly of France for Corrèze's 1st Constituency from 1988 to 1993 and then again from 1997 to 2012. He also served as the Mayor of Tulle from 2001 to 2008 and the President of the General Council of Corrèze from 2008 to 2012.

He was elected President of France on 6 May 2012, defeating the incumbent Nicolas Sarkozy, and was inaugurated on 15 May. He is the second Socialist President of the Fifth French Republic, after François Mitterrand who served from 1981 to 1995.

Hollande was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, to a middle-class family. His mother, Nicole Frédérique Marguerite Tribert (1927–2009), was a social worker, and his father, Georges Gustave Hollande, an ear, nose, and throat doctor who "had once run for the extreme right in local politics." The surname "Hollande" is "believed to come from Calvinist ancestors who escaped Holland (the Netherlands) in the 16th century and took the name of their old country." Hollande was raised Catholic but quietly rebelled against the strict religious brothers chosen by his father to educate him. The family moved to Neuilly, a suburb of Paris, when Hollande was 13.

Vanessa Ferrari (born November 10, 1990 in Orzinuovi, Brescia), is a World Champion Gymnast from Italy. Her mother, Galya, is Bulgarian and her father, Giovanni, is Italian.

Ferrari first rose to prominence as a thirteen year old at the 2004 Junior European Championships where she won the silver medal in the All Around competition with a score of 36.525. She also won two bronze medals with the Italian Team and on the Balance Beam with a score of 9.175.

Still in the Junior ranks for 2005, Ferrari turned in more fine performances at the European Youth Olympics in Italy and the 2005 Mediterranean Games in Almería, Spain, winning the All Around Gold Medal at both competitions as well. She also won Vault, Beam and Floor at the latter as well as the Silver Medal on the Uneven Bars.

In 2006, Ferrari qualified as a Senior Gymnast. She anchored the Italian team a surprise Gold Medal at the Senior European Championships, edging out defending champions Romania by just one tenth of a point. Although no All Around competition was held, Ferrari's combined score was the highest of any gymnast at the competition. She also won a Silver Medal on the Floor, scoring 15.450 to finish ahead of Olympic Champion Cătălina Ponor. Falls from bars and beam prevented further success there.