FONTENAY-LE-COMTE, the chief town of an arrondissement in the department of Vendée, France, is situated on both sides of the river Vendée at the point where it becomes navigable, 35 miles S.E. of La Roche-sur-Yon (Napoléon Vendée). The town has an antique and straggling appearance, but there are some good houses in the suburbs. It possesses a communal college, a prison, a hospital, a theatre, the remains of an old castle which formerly belonged to the counts of Poitiers, and two old and beautiful churches, Notre Dame and St John. Both are of Romanesque architecture, terminated with Gothic spires, the spire of Notre Dame being 311 feet in height. The principal industries are the manufacture of coarse linen and woollen cloths, brewing, and tanning; and there is a considerable trade in wine, fruits, timber, hemp, flax, and cattle.

Fontenay occupies the site of an old Roman town. It was captured by the English in 1361, and during the wars of the Huguenots it was ten times besieged. Louis XIII. in 1621 ordered the demolition of its fortifications, and in 1649, during the rebellion against the parliament, it fell into the hands of the nobles of Poitou. In the time of the Revolution it was called Fontenay-le-Peuple. Population in 1876, 7309.