Last modified: 2026-09-19 by olivier touzeau
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![[Flag]](../images/f/fr-22-pr.gif)
Flag of Plérin - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 11 November 2021
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The municipality of Plérin (14,103 inhabitants in 2011; 2,772 ha) is located on the northern coast of Brittany, north of Saint-Brieuc.
Plérin was a parish (plou) dedicated to local St. Rinan, mentioned in documents of the Redon abbey dated 9th century. The village was mentioned for the first time in 1215, while the parish appeared in 1254 in a document of the Beauport abbey. Originally part of the county of Goëlo, Plérin was incorporated to Penthièvre in the 11th century.
The municipality of Plérin, established in 1790, lost different parts of its original territory: a Decree of 19 July 1814 transferred the
village of Plessis to the neighbouring municipality of Tremuson, while
two new municipalities were subsequently established, Saint-Laurent-de-
la-Mer (25 March 1931), and Notre-Dame-du-Légué (8 September 1949).
[InfoBretagne]
The Congregation of the Daughters of the Holy Spirit (website) was founded in Plérin on 8 December 1706 by Marie Balavenne and Renée Burel, with the support of priest Jean Leuduger, Director of the Missions in Upper-Brittany. In 1733, the congregation was officially approved by the diocese administration, under the name of Sisters of Charity of Plérin, White Sisters, or Daughters of the Holy Spirit; its foundations were mostly established in rural parishes. The congregation is divided today in Provinces: France, Belgium, Netherlands and Romania; England, Ireland and Wales; South America (Chile and Peru); USA; and Africa (Burkina Faso, Cameroon and Nigeria). Plérin is still the seat of a Vice-Province of the congregation.
Plérin is the site of the Breton Pork Market (MPB, Marché du Porc Breton), an auction market founded in 1972 by producers and buyers. The MPB establishes prices twice a week, accounting for 75% of the sales on the French market; every week, some 2,250 pork breeders, 12 regional producer groups and 15 regional buyers trade 35,000 pigs and more than 200 swine, that is, thanks to electronic auction, one sale every three seconds.
[L'Usine nouvelle, 15 October 2011].
Plérin is the birth place of airman Marcel Brindejonc des
Moulinais (1892-1916). In 1910, young Marcel witnessed Roland
Garros landing on the beach of Dinard with a Santos-Dumont's Demoiselle and became fond of aviation. Brindejonc des Moulinais specialized in long-distance raids (Paris-Madrid-Paris, 2,770 km in 24 days). In 1913, he was the first airman to fly over eight different countries, covering 5,000 km in eight days, being once a national
hero, as famous as Lindbergh. In 1914, he joined the French Air Force as a reconnaissance pilot; he was killed in 1916 by a friendly shot near Verdun.
[Ouest-France, 8 January 2011]
Ivan Sache, 4 June 2012
The flag of Plérin (photo, photo, photo) is white with the municipal logo, which is inscribed Plérin sur Mer (on Sea), a non-official name used to promote sea tourism.
Ivan Sache & Olivier Touzeau, 11 November 2021
![[Flag]](../images/f/fr~legue.gif)
Flag of the port of Le Légué - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 15 September 2026
Le Légué (al Lege in Breton) is a commercial, fishing, and leisure
port located in Brittany, between the towns of Saint-Brieuc and
Plérin.
It is the fifth-largest port in Brittany in terms of activity.
Situated on the left bank of the Gouët River, the port derives its
name from the words "Lez guer" or "Ker", meaning "near the town", or
from a ford that was once located near the Cesson Bridge.
Le Légué is mentioned as early as the 15th century; a deed of gift
dated September 10, 1424, in which Duke John V granted the port to his
wife, Joan of France, reveals that salt depots and warehouses already
existed there at that time. Le Légué’s exports consisted primarily of
salt, salted fish, and linen cloth from Quintin and Uzel.
While Binic was already sending ships to Newfoundland by 1612, Le
Légué did not enter this trade until the late 17th century.
Nevertheless, it engaged in coastal trade with the Channel Islands and
Normandy until 1691.
For centuries, Le Légué had merely been a tidal port where ships had
to wait for the rising tide to approach the quays. Infrastructure
improvements began in the 18th century to develop the port of Le
Légué, secure its supply lines, and facilitate exports.
A wooden bridge was built in 1730. It was replaced in the early 19th
century by a bridge resting on two piers. In 1752, the Estates of
Brittany granted Le Légué a sum of 25,000 francs for dredging, and
another 10,000 francs two years later for the construction of a quay
along the left bank : the Aiguillon Quay, started in 1758.
In 1776, a Council decree granted Le Légué the right to outfit ships
for the French islands and colonies. That same year, Louis XIV
authorized the construction of a new warehouse at the port.
In 1785, a dispute arose between the Duke of Penthièvre—who, as the
Lord of La Roche-Suhart, claimed ownership of the Gouët’s left
bank—and His Majesty, represented by Navy engineers. The engineers
prevailed; following this conflict, and compounded by the collapse of
the bridge connecting Le Légué to Saint-Brieuc, a decision was made to
develop a comprehensive plan for the entire port area, stretching from
the Gouët Bridge to the Cesson Tower.
The site was equipped with a wet dock and a lock between 1868 and
1876. The swing bridge inaugurated in 1893, the electrification of the
lock mechanism in 1928, and post-war reconstruction efforts rounded
out an infrastructure that today spans over thirteen hectares,
featuring quays capable of accommodating vessels of 3,000 to 5,000
tons.
[Source: municipal website of Plérin quoted by our late friend Pascal Vagnat here]
According to this source, the port flag of Le Legué consisted of five
alternating vertical stripes: two blue and three yellow. I have no
more information about the era and the circumstances surrounding its
use.
Pascal Vagnat added that the colours came from the coat of arms of Plérin.
Olivier Touzeau, 15 September 2026