Coordinates: 48°57′27″N 4°21′54″E / 48.9575°N 4.365°E / 48.9575; 4.365

Châlons-en-Champagne (French pronunciation: [ʃa.lɔ̃.ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.paɲ] or [ʃɑ.lɔ̃.ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.paɲ]) is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims.

Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renamed in 1998. It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Châlons is conjectured to be the site of the Catalaunian Fields in which the battle of Châlons, 451AD, turned back the westward advance of Attila.

Cloister Notre-Dame-en-Vaux

Hôtel de Ville

Old Town of Châlons

Châlons Cathedral

The Gare de Châlons-en-Champagne railway station is served by the TGV network with service to and from Paris Gare de l'Est. Other destinations are Reims, Saint-Dizier, Nancy, Bar-le-Duc and Verdun. Additionally, Châlons is connected with the Champagne-TGV station, near Reims, with high speed trains going to Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport.

Benoist Apparu (born 24 November 1969) is Secretary of State for Housing under the Minister of Ecology, Sustainable Development, Transport and Housing, Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet, in the François Fillon III government, and a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents the Marne department, and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.

Benoist Apparu was born on November 24, 1968 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, France. He holds an MPhil in International Law.

From 1994 to 1999, he worked as a parliamentary assistant for Bruno Bourg-Broc. In 1996, he was elected as national representative for the young wing of the Rally for the Republic. From 1999 to 2002, he worked in the private sector. In 2001, he served as Deputy-Mayor of Châlons-en-Champagne for Youth and Communication, then for Housing in 2008, as Bruno Bourg-Broc was re-elected. He then worked as Chief of Staff for Xavier Darcos, and for Catherine Vautrin.

In 2007, he was elected as a member of the National Assembly of France. His deputy is Bruno Bourg-Broc. On 23 June 2009 he was named Secretary of State for Housing and City in the François Fillon government, under the responsibility of Jean-Louis Borloo, Minister of the Environment.