Fougères, even though it has completely relocated its production to Asia. The town is growing in relation to Rennes since the inauguration of the Autoroute des Estuaires in 2000, which provides access to Rennes in 30 minutes, and has achieved a satisfactory development based on the growth of more diversified economic activities. More than of business parks, between the motorway and the city centre, give an economic attractiveness to the area. The has 20 communes gathering 42,818 inhabitants (2009) including 46% of this population which is in the town centre. This makes the Fougères urban area the 164th of 241 large urban areas of France. Inhabitants of Fougères are called Fougerais (male) and Fougeraise (female) in French. Economy There used to be an important shoemaking industry which is now almost extinct. There was also an important glass making industry. During the Middle Ages, salt was heavily taxed and was imported from the Breton regions to the rest of France. Fougères was made a stronghold for "salt smugglers", who would creep along the wall of the city with confiscated salt, to sell in other regions. There is a communal garden in modern Fougères that commemorates this interesting and little-known fact. Fougères was the seat of the until 2011, replaced since by a delegation from the after the merger of these. In 2008, the major employers in Fougères were the Centre hospitalier de Fougères, -Safran Group, , the town of Fougères, the Transports Gélin, Carrefour (Sofodis), the Association Jean-Baptiste Le Taillandier (AREP and the Notre-Dame-des-Marais, Edmond Michelet, Saint-Joseph, and Beau-site schools), the Jean Guéhenno city school, the , and Groom, as well as Otima. Health The central hospital of Pays de Fougères has just completed its renovation in 2013: It offers access to 13 care services, emergency, maternity, 16 specialties and 440 beds. The elderly have two suitable facilities: The Henri Rebuffé sheltered housing, opened in 1987 in the former premises of the Morel et Gaté firm in the Bonabry quarter, and the Cotterêts sheltered housing. Teaching Higher education is present at Fougères, notably in the field of health: Institute of nursing training (hospital) Bertin school of hearing aids (CCI Fougères training hub) Fizeau graduate school of Optics (CCI Fougères training hub) Charles-Edouard-Guillaume School of Fine Watchmaking (CCI Fougères training hub) The Fougères CCI Training Institute Planning and living environment The town has 38 . Several of them (chestnut, tulip trees, sequoia,