Charente-Maritime is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, it…Charente-Maritime is a département in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region on the southwestern coast of France. Named after the river Charente, its prefecture is La Rochelle. As of 2019, it had a population of 651,358 with an area of 6,864 square kilometres.