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A canal in Rennes on a sunny day, with moored houseboats, a riverside footpath lined with trees and modern apartment blocks on both banks, and the old town's spires in the distance

France

Rennes

Photo: Thanh Ly, Pexels License, Pexels

Rennes Métropole is building four Trambus lines for 2030 and has just opened a storm-water tank to protect the Vilaine, while the city prepares a rental permit against substandard housing in its old centre from April 2027 and a second central kitchen for organic school meals.

Updated · Checked against official sources

  • Population

    230,890

    2023

  • Mayor

    Nathalie Appéré, also President of Rennes Métropole

    2026-2032 term

  • EU programmes

    3

Latest

  1. Mobility ·

    Rennes opens new Baud-Chardonnet bus depot with rooftop solar and district heating

    Rennes Métropole has inaugurated its new Baud-Chardonnet bus depot, relocated at a cost of over 40 million euros including tax, where 1,366 m² of rooftop solar panels produce 300 MWh a year, 80% of it used on site.

    Facts and source
    • Rennes Métropole decided at the end of 2019 to relocate the previous bus depot, including its demolition and decontamination, at a cost of over 40 million euros including tax.
    • Solar panels on the maintenance workshop roof produce 300 MWh a year, 80% of which is used on site.
    • Moving the depot frees the old site for further housing in the Baud-Chardonnet district.

    Source: Rennes city hall, “Inauguration du dépôt de bus de Baud-Chardonnet”

    Read with context →

  2. Climate and energy ·

    Rennes completes underground storm basin to cut sewage discharges into the Vilaine

    Rennes Métropole is completing a 5.3-million-euro underground buffer basin in Saint-Hélier that stores 1,750 cubic metres of storm water and is expected to cut discharges into the Vilaine by more than 90%.

    Facts and source
    • The buffer basin is expected to cut the volume of water discharged into the natural environment by more than 90%.
    • The project cost 5.3 million euros, funded by Rennes Métropole with support from the Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne.
    • The basin can store 1,750 cubic metres of water.

    Source: Rennes city hall, “À Rennes, un nouvel équipement pour mieux gérer les fortes pluies et améliorer la qualité de l’eau”

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  3. Regeneration and housing ·

    Rennes completes Plaisance district with 360 homes beside the River Ille

    Rennes has completed the 5-hectare Plaisance district beside the River Ille, with 360 homes including 82 social rental units run by Espacil Habitat, after a 15 million euro project fully funded by the city as its own developer.

    Facts and source
    • Plaisance has 360 homes, 82 of them social rental housing run by Espacil Habitat.
    • The development zone was delivered and closed in summer 2026.
    • The project cost 15 million euros overall and was fully funded by the city.

    Source: Rennes city hall, “Plaisance : un nouveau quartier est né”

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  4. Food systems ·

    Rennes to build second central kitchen for 9,500 daily meals by 2029

    Rennes will build a second central kitchen in the south of the city for 9,500 meals, a 26 million euro project fully funded by the city and due in the third quarter of 2029, ending disposable plastic containers in collective catering.

    Facts and source
    • The new central kitchen will have a capacity of 9,500 meals to meet the future needs of Rennes' collective catering.
    • The project is estimated at 26 million euros, fully funded by the city, with delivery planned for the third quarter of 2029.
    • Its opening will end the use of plastic and disposable containers across all collective catering.

    Source: Rennes city hall, “Une deuxième cuisine centrale pour préparer des repas bio et bons”

    Read with context →

City briefs are drafted with AI from official sources; every fact is checked against the source text before an editor approves it.

Projects we track

6 projects · 1 completed · 3 under way

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Trambus: four high-frequency electric bus lines

    Rennes Métropole presented the vehicles, design and stations of its Trambus network in August 2026 while works continue: four lines (T1 to T4, from Saint-Grégoire, Vezin-le-Coquet and Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande to Cesson-Sévigné, Chantepie and Bruz) by 2030, expected to serve about 200,000 residents and 135,000 workers by 2035 and carry 90,000 trips a day, close to metro line b.

    Budget près de 280 millions d'euros Funded by Rennes Métropole, with European and national funding Mobility

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Saint-Hélier storm-water tank

    Built from December 2024 to October 2026, an underground tank of 1,750 m³ stores waste and rain water during heavy storms in south-east Rennes, cutting overflows into the Vilaine by more than 90%; a landscaped public space is to be laid out above it by 2029.

    Budget 5,3 millions d'euros Funded by Rennes Métropole; Agence de l'Eau Loire-Bretagne (1 697 500 €) Climate and energy

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Rental permit against substandard housing

    From April 2027, landlords in the old city centre will need the city's authorisation before letting flats under 20 m² built before 1975, about 900 homes where inspections found most insalubrity; the burden of proof shifts to the owner, and the public developer Territoires supports the scheme.

    Regeneration and housing

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Second central kitchen for school and public meals

    A 2,650 m² kitchen for 9,500 meals a day, also serving Chantepie, Montgermont and Saint-Jacques-de-la-Lande, will raise capacity to 18,500 meals, end disposable plastic containers and use more raw, local and organic produce, with heat recovery, geothermal energy and 415 solar panels; delivery is planned for the third quarter of 2029, towards a target of 100% organic food by 2032.

    Budget 26 millions d'euros Funded by Ville de Rennes Food systems

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Kerlia: modernising the Métropole's public fibre network

    Since 1 July 2026 Orange Concessions runs the Métropole's electronic communications network, created in 2007, under a seven-year public service concession; Rennes Métropole keeps ownership while ageing equipment is replaced with European and French hardware and new services such as private 5G and a LoRa IoT network for businesses arrive from the second half of 2027.

    Digital government

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

    1. Planned
    2. Funded
    3. Under way
    4. Completed

    Rennes Métropole Citizens' Assembly

    A new panel of 28 members, chosen from 2,400 residents drawn by lot (160 accepted), took over in October 2026 to oversee the metropolitan charter on citizen participation and examine consultations such as Trambus and the climate plan; the outgoing assembly handed over a 56-page participation guide for elected officials of the Métropole's communes.

    Civic participation

    Status checked 21 October 2026 · Source

EU programmes and networks

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