Ulster Rugby v La Rochelle

10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT LA ROCHELLE

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Maigret author Georges Simenon, and writer Jean- Paul Sartre, had homes in the port city of La Rochelle. The present rugby union club was formed in 1986 and is nicknamed ‘Les Corsaires’ – the Privateers. During World War Two the German-imposed Vichy regime banned rugby league, ordering that code’s funds be seized for the Union club. Atlantique Stade Rochelais is the full name of the team we know simply as c Marcel-Delfandre where many hundreds of Ulster fans visited earlier in the Champion La Rochelle finished as the best Top 14 side in the regular league season in 2017 – only to be beaten in the semi-final play-offs. The club plays at the 16,000-capacity Stade

Since the 12th Century the West Coast port has been a busy centre of the French fishing industry and international trade.

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10 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT LA ROCHELLE

France’s first astronaut, Jean- Loup Jacques Marie Chretien, was born in the city in 1938.

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La Rochelle is the ancestral home of Canadian Prime Ministers Pierre and Justin Trudeau.

La Rochelle is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department in the region of Nou e- Aquitaine.

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