Niort

Niort (Poitevin: Niàu; Niòrt; Novioritum) is a commune in the Deux-Sèvres department, western France. It is the prefecture of Deux-Sèvres.

The population of Niort is 58,707 (2017) and more than 177,000 people live in the urban area.

Geography
The town is located on the river Sèvre Niortaise and is a centre of angelica cultivation in France. Near Niort at Maisonnay there is one of the tallest radio masts in France (height: 330 metres).

Transport
Niort has a railway station on the TGV route between Paris and La Rochelle, Gare de Niort. Direct TGV to Paris Montparnasse station takes 2 hours and 15 minutes. Niort is a road and motorway junction, connected to Paris and Bordeaux by the A10 motorway, with Nantes by the A83, and with La Rochelle by the N11. It is the largest French city to offer free mass transit.

Population
The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Niort proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Niort absorbed the former commune of Souché in 1964, Sainte-Pezenne in 1965, Saint-Florent in 1968 and Saint-Liguaire in 1971.

Economy
Niort is the French capital of mutual insurance and bank companies, with the headquarters of MAAF, MAIF, MACIF, SMACL and regional branches of national mutual companies such as Groupama, Banque Populaire. Despite its small size, Niort is a main financial centre of France (ranked fourth after Paris, Lyon and Lille). Chemistry and aeronautics are the other main industries.

Niort is a major administrative and commercial centre. There has been a covered market in the town since at least the 13th century. The present-day Halles de Niort, a steel and glass pavilion atop a vaulted stone base building, opened in 1871 and has been listed as a monument historique since 1987.

Notable people
Niort is the birthplace of the following people:
 * Mickaël Brunet, footballer
 * Oliver Sarr, basketball player
 * Achille-Félix Montaubry (1826–98), tenor singer associated with opéra comique and operetta
 * Gaston Chérau (1872–1937), writer, a member of the Académie Goncourt
 * Aurélien Capoue, footballer
 * Étienne Capoue, footballer
 * Françoise d'Aubigné, marquise de Maintenon (1635–1719), second wife of Louis XIV
 * Henri-Georges Clouzot (1904–1977), film director
 * Paul Collomp (1885–1943), French hellenist and papyrologist
 * Julien N'Da, footballer
 * Louis-Marcelin, marquis de Fontanes (1757–1821), poet and politician
 * Mamadou Camara, footballer
 * Pascal Depierris (born 1967), former professional footballer
 * Isabelle Druet (born 1979), mezzo-soprano
 * Mickaël James (born 1976), former professional footballer
 * Jacques Antoine Marie de Liniers et Brémond (Santiago Antonio María de Liniers y Bremond) (1753–1810), Spanish Viceroy in the Río de la Plata
 * Jean Sauvaget (1901–1950), historian and orientalist
 * Philippe Souchard (born 1979), footballer
 * Mathieu Texier (born 1981), footballer
 * Rima Hassan (born 1992 - arrived in the town in 2002), jurist and politician

Fictional works
Niort is featured or mentioned in the following fictional works:


 * Son Excellence Eugène Rougon, 1876, the sixth novel in the Rougon-Macquart series by Émile Zola.
 * Les Diaboliques, 1955 movie by Henri-Georges Clouzot
 * Sérotonine, 2019 novel by Michel Houellebecq

Sports
The football team is Chamois Niortais, which plays in National, the third-highest league in French football. Rugby team Stade Niortais celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2009. The city also is home to a professional basketball club named ASN Niort. The team plays at the second highest league in French basketball. The team celebrated its 100th birthday in 2021.

Education
Upper secondary schools:


 * Lycée Jean Macé
 * Lycée général, technologique et professionnel Paul Guérin
 * Lycée de la Venise Verte
 * Lycée professionnel Gaston Barré
 * Lycée professionnel Thomas Jean Main
 * Lycée de l'horticulture et du paysage
 * Lycée Saint-André / Notre-Dame (private)

There is a post-secondary institution, Pôle universitaire de Niort.

International relations
Niort is twinned with:
 * Atakpamé, Togo, since 1958
 * 🇩🇪 Coburg, Bavaria, Germany, since 1974
 * 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, England, United Kingdom, since 1977
 * 🇩🇪 Springe, Lower Saxony, Germany, since 1979
 * 🇪🇸 Tomelloso, Ciudad Real, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, since 1981
 * 🇪🇸 Gijón, Asturias, Spain, since 1982
 * 🇵🇱 Biała Podlaska, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland, since 1995