\paperw4260 \margr0\margl0 \plain \qj\li105\ri195 \f1 \b The port of La Rochelle\par
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\b0 A commercial port ever since the eleventh century with a sheltered harbor, La Roch
elle's development was linked to the trade with the Americas and it went into decline after the loss of the French colonies in the New World. An adherent to the Calvinist Reformation, the city was attacked by Richelieu in 1628. It took eighteen months of
siege to break the fierce resistance of its inhabitants. From this long history, La Rochelle retains an old harbor, dominated by the tower of Saint-Nicolas and the tower of the boom with their massive walls, and ancient quarters with fine houses that st
ill evoke the wealth of ship-owners who made a great profit from the slave trade. In a less reprehensible manner, La Rochelle has now become the largest marina in Europe.\par
