CETTE, a seaport of southern France in the department of Herault, 18 m. S.W. of Montpellier, at the junction of the P.L.M. and Midi railways. Pop. 34,661. After Marseille it is the principal commercial port on the south coast of France. The port was created in 1666 by the agency of Colbert, minister of Louis XIV., and according to the plans of Vauban; toward the end of the 17th century its development was aided by the opening of the Canal du Midi. The older part of Cette occupies the foot and slope of the conspicuous and isolated Mont St. Clair (590 ft.), situated on a tongue of land between the Mediterranean and the lagoon of Thau. This well-built quarter is bounded on the east by the Canal de Cette, which leads from the lagoon of Thau to the Old Basin and the outer harbour. Across the canal lie the newer quarters, which chiefly occupy two islands separated from each other by a wet dock and bounded on the east by the Canal Maritime, parallel to the Canal de Cette. A lateral canal unites the northern ends of the two main canals. A huge breakwater pro tects the entrance to the harbour, which is one of the safest in France. The outer port and the Old Basin (the fishing harbour) are enclosed by a mole to the south and by a jetty to the east. Behind the outer port lies an inner basin which communicates with the Canal Maritime. The entire area of the harbour, includ ing the canals, is III acres with a quayage length of over 8,000 yards. The public institutions of Cette include tribunals of com merce and of maritime commerce, councils of arbitration in com mercial and fishing affairs, an exchange and chamber of com merce. Cette is much resorted to for sea-bathing. The town is connected with Lyons by the canal from the Rhone to Cette, and with Bordeaux by the Canal du Midi. The shipping trade is car ried on with South America, the chief ports of the Mediterranean, and especially with Spain. The chief exports are wines, brandy and chemical products ; the chief imports are coal, timber, petro leum and chemical substances. Small craft are employed in the sardine, tunny, cod and other fisheries. Shell-fish are obtained from the lagoon of Thau. There are factories for the pickling of sardines, for the manufacture of liqueurs and casks, and for the treatment of sulphur, phosphates and nitrate of soda. The Schneider Company of Creusot also have metallurgical works at Cette, and there are wire-making establishments.