Concarneau

In August the town holds the annual Fête des Filets Bleus (Festival of the blue nets). The festival, named after the traditional blue nets of Concarneau's fishing fleet, is a celebration of Breton and pan-Celtic culture. Such festivals can occur throughout Brittany but the Filets Bleus is one of the oldest and largest, attracting in excess of a thousand participants in traditional dress with many times that number of observers. In 2005, the 100th festival was celebrated. ==Literature==

Concarneau was the setting for Belgian mystery writer Georges Simenon's 1931 novel Le Chien jaune (The Yellow Dog), featuring his celebrated sleuth Maigret. ==Economy==

Fishing, particularly for tuna, has long been the primary economic activity in Concarneau. The Les Mouettes d'Arvor is one of the last traditional canning factories in Concarneau. Concarneau is one of the biggest fishing ports in France. Since the 1980s, other industries have arisen, such as boat construction and summer tourism. The Ville Close separates the working port from the yacht basin. ==Demographics==

Inhabitants of Concarneau are called in French Concarnois (masculine) and Concarnoises (feminine). In 1959, Concarneau absorbed the former commune Lanriec. ==Breton language==

In 2008, 2.16% of primary-school children attended bilingual schools, where Breton language is taught alongside French. ==Sport==

The football club US Concarneau is based in the town. ==Personalities==

• Michel Desjoyeaux, navigator • Samantha Davies, sailor • Guy Cotten, founder of a clothes factory • Stéphane Guivarc'h, French footballer, won the FIFA World Cup 1998 with the French national side • Théophile Deyrolle and Alfred Guillou, founders of the Concarneau Art Colony. • Valérie Hermann, President of Ralph Lauren ==International relations==

Twinned towns: • Bielefeld, Germany since 1969 • M'bour, Senegal since 1974 • Penzance, United Kingdom since 1982 ==Gallery==

File:Ville Close de Concarneau (1.1).jpg|The medieval Ville Close File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau1 tango7174.jpg|The medieval Ville Close File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau2 tango7174.jpg|The commercial harbour File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau3 tango7174.jpg|The yachting harbour File:Bretagne Finistere Concarneau4 tango7174.jpg|At dusk File:Port de Concarneau.jpg|The port File:Concarneau - Port de plaisance.jpg|The yachting harbor File:Château de Kériolet (0).jpg|Château de Kériolet File:La plage des Sables Blancs.jpg|Les Sables Blancs File:La Ville Close.jpg|The Ville Close File:Statue de Duquesne à Concarneau.jpg|Abraham Duquesne File:Localisation Concarneau dept29.png|Concarneau's location in Finistère ==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto ==See also==