Last modified: 2023-09-09 by olivier touzeau
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Flag of Lannion - Image by Arnaud Leroy and Olivier Touzeau, 10 November 2021
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Lannion (20,451 inhabitants in 2020; 4,391 ha) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department in Brittany in northwestern France.
The numerous megaliths in the region bear witness to its ancient past. Coins and pottery debris attest to an unmistakable Gallic presence. During the Gallo-Roman period, Lannion was an obligatory passage to cross the Léguer river as close as possible to the coast, especially at high tide. The Léguer, like the other rivers, was an easy way of penetration for the invaders, so Lannion was endowed with a castle attested from the Middle Ages.
Lannion was involved, during the Hundred Years War, in the War of the Succession of Brittany. Following a betrayal of two soldiers from the Lannion garrison, the town of Lannion was taken by the English and pillaged in 1346. In 1587, on March 22, the massacres perpetrated during the wars of religion in France began, with the attack on Perros-Ploumanac'h, having pledged allegiance to the League, by the Royals of La Rochelle. The surrounding parishes were divided between leaguers (Plestin-les-Grèves), or royalists like Lannion. Lannion was pillaged four times during the League: first in 1590, by troops from Mercoeur; then, in 1593 and in 1596, by the brigands of Fontenelle; finally in 1598, by the King's troops under the command of Captains Thomy la Broustière and Guette-Cambrigo. Despite the conversion of Henri IV to Catholicism, the League and the Royalists continued their attacks and the destruction of the towns of the opposite camp. But the Trégor was much weakened and the king brought back peace, confirmed by the Edict of Nantes in 1598.
In the twentieth century, the port of Lannion greatly contributed to the growth of the city before the 1939-1945 war. But at the start of the second half of the 20th century, Lannion had only 7,000 inhabitants. At the dawn of the 1960s, it was chosen to host the National Center for Telecommunications Studies (CNET). The small town then needed large land reserves to install it, to house the families of technicians, especially as many companies would follow this arrival. On April 25, 1961, a prefectural decree sealed the merger of Lannion with the municipalities of Buhulien, Loguivy, Servel and Brélévenez. Despite the crises of the 1980s and 1990s, the city of Lannion consolidated its strengths in Telecom (Alcatel company) and optical fiber and, with major Orange and Alcatel sites, it was then qualified as “mini Silicon Valley ".
Olivier Touzeau, 10 November 2021
The coat of arms of Lamballe is blazonned: Azure a Paschal lamb Argent bearing a high cross Or, a pennant gules charged with the words LAUS DEO in capital letters Or too. The motto in Breton: War zao atao, means Always Beginning.
Olivier Touzeau, 10 November 2021
A white flag with the arms, surrounded by the words “Lannion” and “Côtes d’Armor” could be observed in 2009 on the city hall (photo)
Olivier Touzeau, 10 November 2021