Canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré
# Canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré

The Canton of Saint-Martin-de-Ré is a French former administrative division located in Île de Ré, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes. It was disbanded following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. It consisted of 5 communes, which joined the new Canton of Île de Ré in 2015. Its chef-lieu was Saint-Martin-de-Ré. It had 13,196 inhabitants (2012).

## Geography

The canton was bordered by the pertuis Breton to the north, by the "strait of La Pallice" to the east and the sluice of Antioch to the south. To the west, it adjoined the canton of Ars-en-Ré by the commune of La Couarde-sur-Mer. Its altitude varied all the way from 0 m (La Flotte) to 17 m (Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré) with an average altitude of 8 m (about 8.8 yards high). The nature of its soil as the geology of the island are of the same origin than the one of Aunis, whose Île de Ré represents the western extension.

### Administration

The canton was located in the eastern part of Île de Ré and belonged to the arrondissement of La Rochelle. Its chef-lieu was the small port town of Saint-Martin-de-Ré. The canton comprised the following communes:

* Le Bois-Plage-en-Ré
* La Flotte
* Rivedoux-Plage
* Sainte-Marie-de-Ré
* Saint-Martin-de-Ré

## Politics

List of the general councillors (conseillers généraux) since 1906:

| Period | Conseiller | Party | Occupation |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1906–1920 | Gustave Perreau | Parti radical | Mayor of La Rochelle (1925–1928), senator (1912–1939) |
| 1920- | Jules Bernard | | |
| -1979 | André Chaigne | DVD | Mayor of Sainte-Marie-de-Ré (1959–1977) |
| 1979–1985 | Roland Vergnaud | DVD | Mayor of Rivedoux-Plage (1977–1983) |
| 1985–present | Léon Gendre | UMP | Mayor of La Flotte since 1977, restaurateur |

### Elections: results (1979-2011)

**2011**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Léon Gendre | UMP | 55,04 % | 2929 |
| Patrice Raffarin | DVD | 44,96 % | 2393 |

**2004**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Léon Gendre | UMP | 50,5 % | 3196 |
| Thierry Poitte | DVD | 19,7 % | 1250 |
| Claude Mossé | Verts | 13,8 % | 877 |
| Elise Somprou | FN | 6,5 % | 415 |
| Robert Grignon | DVD | 5,5 % | 347 |
| Daniel Matifas | PCF | 3,9 % | 249 |

**1998**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Léon Gendre | RPR | 58,9 % | 2873 |
| Alain Mercier | PRG | 41,1 % | 2003 |

**1992**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Léon Gendre | RPR | 51,1 % | 2351 |
| Alain Mercier | MRG | 48,9 % | 2246 |

**1985**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Léon Gendre | RPR | 43,0 % | 1915 |
| Paul Laidet | MRG | 33,7 % | 1498 |
| Roland Vergnaud | DVD | 23,3 % | 1037 |

**1979**

| Candidate | Party | % | Votes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Roland Vergnaud | DVD | 55,1 % | 1970 |
| Léon Gendre | RPR | 44,9 % | 1607 |
