Orne

Orne is a department in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.

History

Orne is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution, on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Normandy and Perche.
After the Battle of Waterloo the department was occupied by the Prussians as agreed in the Treaty of Paris. The area was occupied for three years, during which time the occupying forces pillaged the locals, taking food and money from the locals. The Prussians left in 1818.
During World War II the commune was occupied by the Axis powers. The commune was liberated from its occupiers on 21 August 1944 as part of Operation Overlord, when the final battle of the battle of the Falaise pocket on Hill 262 near Coudehard was won.

Geography

Orne is in the region of Normandy neighbouring Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Sarthe, Manche, Mayenne, and Calvados. It is the only department of Normandy not to border the English Channel.

Geology

Orne has several different geological areas, firstly in the west of the department is the Armorican Massif, which is an ancient mountain range that has been eroded over time to become granite hills. You then have the flatter plains of the Plaine d'Argentan in the north. To the east of the Plaine d'Argentan you have the rolling hills of the Pays d'Auge. To the far north east is the Pays d'Ouche, which features Chalk Group and Clay-with-Flints soils that are not agriculturally productive. In the South of Orne is the forested area of the Perche.
The Orne department has the highest point in Normandy, called the Signal d'Écouves, located in Fontenai-les-Louvets which is 413 metres in height.

Hydrology

The 170 km River Orne is the main river that flows through the commune flowing into the English Channel from its source in Aunou-sur-Orne. The Orne forms the Lac de Rabodanges in Putanges-le-Lac, a 6 km artificial lake covering almost 240 acres, making it the largest lake in Lower Normandy.
In addition to the river Orne that the department is named after there are a further 16 rivers running through the commune that are at least 25 km in length:

Avre - 80.4 km long, its source is at Tourouvre au Perche and flows into the Eure near Dreux
Baize - 25.72 km long, its source is at Habloville and flows into the river Orne at the border between the communes of Les Isles-Bardel and Rapilly.
Cance - 25.5 km long, its source is at La Lande-de-Goult and flows into the river Orne at Écouché-les-Vallées
Charentonne - 63 km long, its source is at Saint-Evroult-Notre-Dame-du-Bois and flows into the Eure near Nassandres sur Risle
Colmont - 50.4 km long, its source is at Fougerolles-du-Plessis and flows into the Mayenne near Saint-Loup-du-Gast
Dives - 105 km long, its source is at Gouffern en Auge and flows into the English Channel in Cabourg
Don - 29.55 km long, its source is at Brullemail and flows into the river Orne at Almenêches
Huisne - 164.86 km long, its source is at Belforêt-en-Perche and flows into the river Sarthe at Le Mans
Noireau - 43.26 km long, its source is at Saint-Christophe-de-Chaulieu and flows into the river Orne at Ménil-Hubert-sur-Orne
Mayenne - 202.61 km long, its source is at Lalacelle and flows into the river Maine at Angers
Risle - 144.72 km long, its source is at Planches and flows into the river Seine at Berville-sur-Mer
Rouvre - 45.6 km long, its source is at Beauvain and flows into the river Orne at Le Mesnil-Villement
Sarthe - 313.81 km long, its source is at Soligny-la-Trappe and flows into the river Maine at Angers
Touques - 108.4 km long, its source is at Champ-Haut and flows into the English Channel between the communes of Deauville and Trouville-sur-Mer
Udon - 28.24 km long, its source is at Chahains and flows into the river Orne at Sevrai
Ure - 30.21 km long, its source is at Ménil-Froger and flows into the river Orne at Argentan
Varenne - 50.4 km long, its source is at Messei and flows into the Mayenne near Ambrières-les-Vallées
Fauna and Flora

The orne has of forests and of hedges and groves, the forest covers 17% of the department's surface area. Three quarters of the forest trees are Broad leaf based with the other 25% being coniferous.
Orne’s highly rural bocage and forest habitats aren’t home to many strict endemic species, but they do shelter several regionally rare species:

The bocage ponds and hedgerows support great crested newts and spotted salamanders, while the Chalk stream networks harbour the endangered white-clawed crayfish.
Insect life includes the uncommon violet oil-beetle.
Woodland flora is typified by mature beech and European ash stands on Armorican Massif outcrops, while wet meadows in the Écouves massif host populations of the rare yellow lady’s-slipper orchid.
Economy

The largest town by a considerable margin is the prefecture, Alençon, which is an administrative and commercial centre for what is still an overwhelmingly rural department.

Employment

As of 2025, the Orne has a below unemployment rate of 6.8% compared to the national average of 7.1%.
Most employment within the Orne is in Public sector, closely followed by services as shown in the table below.

Sector of activity	2011 Number	2011 %	2016 Number	2016 %	2022 Number	2022 %
Together	112,585	100.0	106,440	100.0	106,386	100.0
Agriculture	8,413	7.5	8,153	7.7	7,565	7.1
Industry	21,966	19.5	19,544	18.4	19,583	18.4
Construction	8,651	7.7	7,392	6.9	7,701	7.2
Commerce, transport, various services	37,734	33.5	35,650	33.5	35,579	33.4
Public administration, education, health, social action	35,821	31.8	35,700	33.5	35,959	33.8

Production in Orne

By far the largest export of the Orne department is dairy products as shown by the table below:

Category	Export value in %
Dairy Products	320
Furniture	143
Automotive parts & equipment	134
Precious & other non-ferrous metals	132
Meat & meat products	85.1

Food and Drink Production in Orne

Orne’s agricultural sector is dominated by dairy and bovine meat, which together account for two-thirds of the total value of farm deliveries. The department has diversified over the past two decades to include poultry, sheep, pork and equine production.

Dairy products and cheeses

Camembert de Normandie - a traditional soft-ripened cheese from Orne made exclusively with unpasteurised milk from Normandy cows, characterised by its velvety white bloomy rind and creamy interior with delicate notes of milk and undergrowth. Its production follows strict AOP rules, including hand-ladling the curd into moulds in five successive layers and a minimum ageing of 22 days before release.
Livarot - a washed-rind soft cheese from the Pays d'Auge in Orne, made with Normande cow’s milk and matured for at least 21 days. It is encircled by five sedge bands—hence its nickname “Le Colonel”, as the rings of dried bullrush resemble the stripes on a colonel's uniform.
Pont-l’Évêque - a traditional soft, washed-rind cheese from Normandy, made from cow’s milk and distinguished by its square shape. It features a supple ivory-coloured paste and a gently reddish washed rind, having been matured for 4 – 6 weeks.

These cheeses are produced by both artisan creameries and larger dairy plants such as Fromageries Gillot in Saint-Hilaire-de-Briouze and Laiterie Fléchard in Rives d'Andaine.

Fruit-based products

Normandy Cider - a traditional apple cider made in Normandy under the EU’s Protected Geographical Indication scheme, crafted from a blend of heritage regional apple varieties and fermented slowly to develop its characteristic golden hue, bright acidity and aromatic fruit-forward profile.
Calvados - a traditional Normandy apple brandy made from cider pressed exclusively from designated orchard varieties within its appellation area. It must be distilled under INAO regulations and aged at least two years in oak barrels, developing a balance of fresh fruit character and oak-derived spice and vanilla notes.
Pommeau de Normandie - a traditional Normandy aperitif made by mutage of two-thirds Cider apple must and one-third young Calvados, aged at least fourteen months in oak barrels to develop its amber hue and complex aromas of candied fruit, honey and vanilla.
Poiré de Domfront AOP - a traditional sparkling perry from the Domfrontais region of Orne, crafted exclusively from designated high-stem perry-pear varieties and matured by natural in-bottle fermentation to yield fine effervescence and a delicate bouquet of fresh pear, floral and honeyed notes.

The orchards of Pays d’Auge and Domfrontais supply fruit for pressing, distillation and ageing facilities throughout the department.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Ornais.
The recorded population level peaked at 443,688 in 1836. Declining farm incomes and the lure of better prospects in the overseas empire led to a sustained reduction in population levels in many rural departments. By the time of the 1936 census, the recorded population stood at just 269,331. Once motor car ownership started to surge in the 1960s, employment opportunities became less restricted and by 1982, the population level had recovered a little to 295,000, after which it slowly decreased.