Le Mans

Le Mans (pronounced: [lə mɑ̃]) is a city in France, located on the Sarthe River. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Mans. Le Mans is a part of the Pays de la Loire region.

Its inhabitants are called Manceaux and Mancelles. Since 1923, the city has hosted the internationally famous 24 Hours of Le Mans endurance sports car race.

History

First mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy, the Roman city Vindinium was the capital of the Aulerci, a sub tribe of the Aedui. Le Mans is also known as Civitas Cenomanorum (City of the Cenomani), or Cenomanus. Their city, seized by the Romans in 47 BC, was within the ancient Roman province of Gallia Lugdunensis. A 3rd-century amphitheatre is still visible. The thermae were demolished during the crisis of the third century when workers were mobilized to build the city's defensive walls. The ancient wall around Le Mans is one of the most complete circuits of Gallo-Roman city walls to survive.

Le Mans (disambiguation)

Le Mans is a city in France.

Le Mans may also refer to:

Le Mans (film)

Le Mans is a 1971 action film directed by Lee H. Katzin, starring Steve McQueen. It features footage from the actual 24 Hours of Le Mans auto race in June 1970.

Released in June 1971 and given a G rating, the film is still popular today among race fans, as it is a relatively accurate depiction of the era. It features lots of racing but very little dialogue (there is brief dialogue approximately 6 minutes into the film, then the PA announcer at 11 minutes, more PA announcements at 14 minutes, with McQueen's first dialogue at 36 minutes into the film). Due to this, and to the American market's obliviousness towards the Le Mans 24-hour race and foreign auto racing in general, it was a flop at the box office in the United States. It followed in the wake of the similar but much more successful 1966 film Grand Prix (for which McQueen had turned down the starring role, given afterwards to James Garner).

Story

Michael Delaney (McQueen) spots racing rival Belgetti's widow Lisa (Elga Andersen) buying flowers; he then drives his 1970 Porsche 911S to the scene of the accident which killed her husband. He has a flashback of Belgetti losing control of his Ferrari just in front of Delaney, who also crashes.

Le Mans (band)

Le Mans was a Spanish indie rock band in existence between 1993 and 1998. Having previously toured and released records under the name Aventuras de Kirlian, the group took a new direction as they hired a new member, Gorka Ochoa, to play the drums.

Line-up

Discography

Albums

France

France (French: [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a sovereign state comprising territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European part of France, called metropolitan France, extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean. France spans 643,801 square kilometres (248,573 sq mi) and has a total population of 66.6 million. It is a unitary semi-presidential republic with the capital in Paris, the country's largest city and main cultural and commercial centre. The Constitution of France establishes the state as secular and democratic, with its sovereignty derived from the people.

During the Iron Age, what is now Metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The Gauls were conquered in 51 BC by the Roman Empire, which held Gaul until 486. The Gallo-Romans faced raids and migration from the Germanic Franks, who dominated the region for hundreds of years, eventually creating the medieval Kingdom of France. France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years' War (1337 to 1453) strengthening French state-building and paving the way for a future centralized absolute monarchy. During the Renaissance, France experienced a vast cultural development and established the beginning of a global colonial empire. The 16th century was dominated by religious civil wars between Catholics and Protestants (Huguenots).

France (disambiguation)

France is a country in Europe.

France may also refer to:

Transport

Radio

Film and television

France (European Parliament constituency)

In European elections, France was a constituency of the European Parliament. It was replaced by subdivided constituencies in 2004. The boundaries of this constituency were the same as the member state of France. Its MEPs can be found in MEPs representing the French constituencies before 2004

Results

1979

1984

1989

1994

1999

External links