Manche (; French: [mɑ̃ʃ] ; Norman: Maunche) is a coastal French department in Normandy on the English Channel, which is known as La Manche, literally "the sleeve", in French. Manche is bordered by Ille-et-Vilaine and Mayenne to the south, Orne and Calvados to the east, the English Channel to the west and north and by sharing maritime borders with the Crown Dependencies of Bailiwick of Jersey and Bailiwick of Guernsey of the United Kingdom to the west. It had a population of 497,522 in 2023.
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History
Manche is one of the original 83 Departments of France, established during the French Revolution on 26 February 1790. It was created from part of the province of Normandy.
The capital was Coutances until 1796, and it resumed that role after World War II because of the almost complete destruction of Saint-Lô during the Battle of Normandy following D-Day. When Saint-Lô was rebuilt, it once again became the capital.