Challans

Not to be confused with challan.

Challans
Commune
The church tower in Challans
Coat of arms
Location of Challans
Challans Show map of France Challans Show map of Pays de la Loire
Coordinates: 46°50′48″N 1°52′41″W / 46.8467°N 1.8781°W / 46.8467; -1.8781
Country	France
Region	Pays de la Loire
Department	Vendée
Arrondissement	Les Sables-d'Olonne
Canton	Challans
Intercommunality	Challans-Gois Communauté
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Rémi Pascreau[1]
Area ^1	64.84 km^2 (25.03 sq mi)
Population  (2023)[2]	22,943
• Density	353.8/km^2 (916.4/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	85047 /85300
Elevation	1–64 m (3.3–210.0 ft) (avg. 11 m or 36 ft)
Website	challans.fr
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Challans (French: [ʃalɑ̃]) is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. Challans station has rail connections to Saint-Gilles-Croix-de-Vie and Nantes.

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,500 —     1800 2,783 +1.54% 1806 2,928 +0.85% 1821 3,307 +0.81% 1831 3,288 −0.06% 1836 3,640 +2.05% 1841 3,832 +1.03% 1846 4,153 +1.62% 1851 4,135 −0.09% 1856 4,167 +0.15% 1861 4,178 +0.05% 1866 4,486 +1.43% 1872 4,631 +0.53% 1876 4,782 +0.81% 1881 4,917 +0.56% 1886 5,172 +1.02% 1891 5,274 +0.39% 1896 5,453 +0.67%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 5,508 +0.20% 1906 5,463 −0.16% 1911 5,877 +1.47% 1921 5,407 −0.83% 1926 5,609 +0.74% 1931 5,469 −0.50% 1936 5,704 +0.84% 1946 5,643 −0.11% 1954 5,828 +0.40% 1962 6,962 +2.25% 1968 8,558 +3.50% 1975 11,794 +4.69% 1982 12,845 +1.23% 1990 14,203 +1.26% 1999 16,132 +1.43% 2007 18,035 +1.40% 2012 19,107 +1.16% 2017 20,622 +1.54%
Source: EHESS[3] and INSEE (1968-2017)[4]

Notable people

• Pauline de Lézardière, born in Challans, 25 March 1754, died Proustière Castle, Poiroux, 8 February 1835. Historian.
• Constance Picaud, born in Challans, 5 July 1998. Footballer for France.

Twin towns — sister cities

Challans is twinned with:

• Saronno, Italy (2004)

See also

• Communes of the Vendée department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
2. "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
3. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Challans, EHESS (in French).
4. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE