Le Havre, seaport and towncity, Seine-Maritime département,
Haute-Normandie région, northern northwestern France. It is on
the English Channel coast and on the right bank of the Seine
estuary, 134 miles (216 km) west-northwest of Paris and 53 miles
(85 km) west of Rouen by road.  Le Havre was only a fishing
village until 1517, when Francis I had a harbour built there
named Havre-de-Grâce (“Haven of Grace”). Enlarged and fortified
under the Cardinal de Richelieu and Louis XIV in the 17th
century, it was adapted to accommodate bigger vessels under
Louis XVI in the late 18th century and was further improved
under Napoleon III in the mid-19th century. During World War II
the Belgian government was transferred there for a short time
after the fall of Antwerp and Ostend to the Germans.  Almost
three quarters of Le Havre’s buildings were destroyed during
World War II but were subsequently rebuilt. The Place de l’Hôtel
de Ville in the centre is one of the most spacious public
squares in Europe. The 16th–17th-century