Plumelec (, ) is a commune in the Morbihan department of the Brittany region, in north-western France. Geography Plumelec is west of Rennes via the RN24 road, and north-west of Nantes via the RN165 road. The commune is situated on the Brittany peninsula and is approximately from the southern coast. Toponymy The Plumelec placename is composed of plou (parish) and Melec, patron of Plumelec (possibly Mellitus or Mellit via worship imported from the British Isles). The name of its people is Méléciens. History During World War II, on the night of 5–6 June 1944, the SAS team captain Pierre Marienne (9 Free French), responsible for the preparation of Operation Dingson, was accidentally parachuted near Plumelec, from the la Grée Mill, where there was a German observation post. During the skirmish that ensued, corporal was killed: He was the first death of Operation Overlord. On 12 July 1944 at dawn, 18 resistance fighters were murdered by French collaborators at Kerihuel: Seven paratroopers, eight rebels and three farmers (including Messrs. Alexandre and Rémi Gicquello, father and son, 46 and 18 years old, and Mr. Ferdinand-Mathurin Danet, 49 years). Captain Pierre Marienne, nicknamed the "lion" of Saint Marcel after the battle of 18 June, was one of the victims. Three weeks later, on Sunday 6 August, was the Liberation, American tanks travelled through in the direction of Vannes and Lorient. In all, there were 42 men from Plumelec and one woman (Ms. Armande Morizur, 35 years), engaged in the Resistance, who gave their lives for the Liberation. The last survivors of the massacre of Kerihuel have since died: Angèle Guillaume (née Gicquello) died on 2 November 2011, at the age of 81; Roger Danet, son of Ferdinand-Mathurin, died in January 2013; and his brother Augustin Danet, aged 8 years old at the time of the event, died in February 2014. Politics and administration List of mayors Population and society The inhabitants of Plumelec are called in French Méléciens. Demography In 2017, the commune had 2,732 inhabitants. Sport Cycling Many cycling races pass through or arrive by the , which presents a mean slope of 6.2% at Plumelec and a vertical ascent of over . This is why the most prestigious cycling races, such as the Tour de France and the French National Road Race Championships, retain Plumelec as a place of passage and arrival. The commune is also the mainstay of the Grand