Cholet

Cholet is a commune in western France, in the Maine-et-Loire department of the Pays de la Loire region. It had 54,404 inhabitants in 2023, which makes it the second most populous commune of the department after the prefecture, Angers. The town stands on a rise on the right bank of the river Moine, about 50 km southeast of Nantes, and it is the centre of an urban community of about 107,000 people and the seat of its own arrondissement. Prehistoric polished stone axes and menhirs show early settlement, and the first mention of a castle there dates from 1069. Cholet grew prosperous after weavers were settled there in the early modern period, and it is still known as the Handkerchief Capital for its red and white striped handkerchief. The town lay at the heart of the Vendee counter-revolutionary struggle and was largely destroyed after the Battle of Cholet in October 1793.