Léchelles (French: [leʃɛl]; Arpitan: Lèchiéles [lɛˈtʃilɛ] ⓘ) is a former municipality in the district of Broye, in the canton of Fribourg, Switzerland.

[1] On 1 January 2016, the former municipalities of Domdidier, Dompierre, Léchelles and Russy merged to form Belmont-Broye.

[3] Léchelles had an area, as of 2009[update], of 8.8 square kilometers (3.4 sq mi).

Of the rest of the land, 0.58 km2 (0.22 sq mi) or 6.6% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.03 km2 (7.4 acres) or 0.3% is either rivers or lakes.

The blazon of the municipal coat of arms is Azure a Bend wavy Argent between two Mullets of the same.

The wavy stripe comes from the coat of arms of Chandon, while the two stars represent the two municipalities.

[7] Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks French (457 or 90.9%) as their first language, German is the second most common (41 or 8.2%) and English is the third (3 or 0.6%).

[8] The age distribution, as of 2000[update], in Léchelles is; 75 children or 14.9% of the population are between 0 and 9 years old and 58 teenagers or 11.5% are between 10 and 19.

[7] The historical population is given in the following chart:[3][11] The Mansion De Gottrau is listed as a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

[7] There were 250 residents of the municipality who were employed in some capacity, of which females made up 44.0% of the workforce.

In the tertiary sector; 28 or 66.7% were in wholesale or retail sales or the repair of motor vehicles, 5 or 11.9% were in a hotel or restaurant, 1 was a technical professional or scientist, 5 or 11.9% were in education.

[7] From the 2000 census[update], 380 or 75.5% were Roman Catholic, while 54 or 10.7% belonged to the Swiss Reformed Church.

This is followed by three years of obligatory lower Secondary school where the students are separated according to ability and aptitude.

The upper Secondary school is divided into gymnasium (university preparatory) and vocational programs.

After they finish the upper Secondary program, students may choose to attend a Tertiary school or continue their apprenticeship.