1.
Lucien Petit-Breton
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Lucien Georges Mazan was a French racing cyclist. He was born in Plessé, Loire-Atlantique, a part of Brittany, when he was six he moved with his parents to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where he took the nationality. His cycling career started when he won a bike in a lottery at the age of sixteen, as his father wanted him to do a real job, he adapted the nickname Lucien Breton for races, to deceive his father. Later he changed it to Petit-Breton, because there already was another cyclist called Lucien Breton and his first notable victory was the track cycling championship of Argentina but in 1902 he was drafted in the French Army and he moved back to France. Two years later in 1904 he won the Bol dOr track event at the second attempt, in 1905 he broke the world hour record on the Buffalo cycling track in Paris with 41.110 km. The same year he started road-racing and finished the Tour de France in a fifth overall. In 1906, he won the third Paris–Tours race and improved on his previous performance by finishing fourth in the Tour, in 1907, he won the inaugural Milan–San Remo race before entering the Tour. However, by the end of five from Lyon to Grenoble. Losing contact with the riders on the Col de la Porte, he could only manage a tenth place. However, with the system, time was irrelevant. In the tenth stage, Georget illegally changed bicycles, and was placed last in the stage by the Tour jury and he also won the Tour in 1908, becoming the first rider to win the Tour twice, after winning the Paris–Brussels race. As part of the all-conquering Peugeot team that took the first four places, Petit-Breton won the Tour even more easily with just 36 points, behind him, team-mates Francois Faber and Georges Passerieu finished with 68 and 75 points respectively. That was his last great victory, first World War ended his career. He joined the French army as a driver and died in 1917 when he crashed into a horse, the cart driver was said to be insensible through drink. Before the war he had started a shop and high-quality bicycles bearing his name were made in Nantes until the 1960s. The French TV series Les Brigades du Tigre was a crime drama focusing on an elite squad of police detectives in the early 20th century. He himself is later assaulted by the man but defiantly continues the stage to the admiration of those present, Lucien Petit-Breton profile at Cycling Archives
2.
Gustave Garrigou
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Cyprien Gustave Garrigou was one of the best professional racing cyclists of his era. He rode the Tour de France eight times and won once, of 117 stages, he won eight, came in the top ten 96 times and finished 65 times in the first five. Garrigou was born in Vabres, France, and lived in Paris and he gained from his lightness in the mountains but had the strength to ride hard on flat stages, and had remarkable powers of recovery. As an amateur he won Paris-Amiens and Paris-Dieppe and he turned professional in 1907 and that year won the national championship, the Giro di Lombardia, Paris–Brussels and came second in the Tour de France 19 points behind teammate Lucien Petit-Breton. A team rider, in the three years, he placed fourth in 1908, second in 1909 and third in 1910 behind winning teammates Petit-Breton, Francois Faber. Garrigou had built a lead of 16 points after the end of Stage 6 but by the time reached the Pyrenees. With Duboc finishing 3 hours behind, Garrigou finished second to consolidate a lead which increased when stage winner Maurice Brocco was disqualified for unsportmanlike behaviour, Duboc had nothing to do with the notices and was as alarmed as the race organizer, Henri Desgrange. Three cars provided a barrier between Garrigou and the crowd until the race had cleared the city, the culprit was eventually found to be a helper with a rival team but Dubocs supporters had suspected Garrigou, as the man most likely to profit from stopping Duboc. Garrigou won the Tour with a number of points over Duboc. In some early years, the Tour was decided not on elapsed time, as leader of an all-French team, Alcyon, Garrigou was supposed to retain the title in 1912, but a last-minute publicity stunt cost him. The Belgian Odile Defraye was included in the team and repaid them by outsprinting Garrigou in stages 2 and 3 on the way to victory, Garrigou finished third behind Eugene Christophe. The Tour of 1913 saw the ending of the points system deciding the winner of the general classification, Garrigou finished in second place 8 minutes and 37 seconds behind another Belgian, Philippe Thys. Garrigou was an all-rounder, also winning Paris–Brussels, Milan–San Remo and he was national champion in 1907 and 1908. His career ended with the outbreak of war in 1914, Garrigou retired to Esbly, Paris, and went into business. Gustave Garrigou profile at Cycling Archives
3.
1906 Tour de France
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The 1906 Tour de France was the fourth of the edition Tour de France, and second to use the point system. Taking place from 4 to 29 July the total distance was 4,637 kilometres run over 13 stages. New in this year were the mountain climbs in the Massif Central, like its predecessors, it still had cheating and sabotage taking place. Four competitors were disqualified for taking trains as a shortcut and spectators threw nails in the road, however, this did not stop René Pottier from taking a big lead in the first stages. Free of tendinitis that plagued his 1905 chances, he dominated the entire race, Tour organiser Henri Desgrange had been happy with the increased length of the 1905 Tour de France, and decided to put even more stages in the 1906 version. The introduction of mountain stages had also successful, so this year not only the Vosges were included. The increased length made it possible to follow the borders of France, the winner of the stage received one point, the second rider two points, et cetera. The first stage ended in Lille and the stage started in Douai. Also for the first time, the Tour went outside France, in the second stage, the 1906 Tour also saw the introduction of the flamme rouge, a red flag that indicates that the cyclists only have one kilometre to go. There were 100 cyclists signed up for the race, but only 76 of them came to the start, one of the absentees was Henri Cornet, winner of the 1904 Tour de France. Four cyclists were Belgian, one was Luxembourgian, one was German, Louis Trousselier, winner of the 1905 Tour de France, was present. The riders were not grouped in teams, but some cyclists had the same sponsor, before the race started, most was expected from Cadolle, Aucouturier, Georget, Pottier, Trousselier, Dortignac and Petit-Breton. In 1906, more than half of the started in the poinçonnées category, including Lucien Petit-Breton. As in previous years, the tried to assist their preferred riders by trying to impede their opponents. On the first stage, nails had been thrown on the road and this stage was won by Emile Georget in a sprint. In the second stage, René Pottier, who had shown his abilities in the previous edition. He was stopped after 175 kilometres with mechanical failure, and he lost 58 minutes, in the third stage, four cyclists were disqualified for taking the train. The Ballon dAlsace, which had been the first real mountain in the Tour de France the previous year, was featured again, just as the year before, it was mounted first by Pottier
4.
1908 Tour de France
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The 1908 Tour de France was the sixth running of the annual Tour de France, one of cyclings Grand Tours. It was organized by the newspaper LAuto, and took place between 13 July and 9 August, the Tour was split in 14 stages, with a total distance of 4,497 kilometres. The pre-race favourite was Lucien Petit-Breton, winner of the previous Tour, Petit-Breton dominated the race, he won the general classification and five of the fourteen stages, and thus became the first cyclist who won the Tour twice. For the first time, the podium in Paris was not completely French, François Faber from Luxembourg ended as second in the general classification. The 1908 Tour de France followed nearly the route as the 1907 Tour de France. The rules were also the same, the system was still used instead of the time system to determine the winner. Dismountable tyres were used for the first time, this meant that cyclists could repair their bicycles easier, because tour organiser Henri Desgrange wanted to keep the Tour de France a race between individual athletes, all cyclists had to ride on frames provided by the Tour organisation. The cyclists were not allowed to bicycles, so the separation in two different classes in the years before had disappeared, and all cyclists started in the same category. Before the race started,162 cyclists had subscribed for the Tour de France,48 cyclists did not start, so the first stage started with 114 cyclists. Cyclists entered the race individually, not in teams, nevertheless some shared the same sponsor, the favourite for the victory was Lucien Petit-Breton, the winner of the previous edition. He was sponsored by Peugeot, which sponsored also several other cyclists, in the five previous editions of the Tour de France. In addition, Petit-Breton was a bicycle mechanic, which was important because the rules said that cyclists had to repair their bicycle without help. The strongest opposition was expected from the sponsored by Alcyon, led by Georges Passerieu. The Labor-sponsored cyclists started the race in yellow jerseys, in 1908 the yellow jersey for the leader was not used yet. French athlete Marie Marvingt had tried to participate in the 1908 Tour de France and she rode the route after the race, and managed to finish it. At one stage, Henri Desgranges car broke down, and the tour organiser had to finish the stage in a horse-drawn carriage, in the first stage, from Paris to Roubaix, the cobbles caused many crashes and flat tyres. It was won by Georges Passerieu, while Petit-Breton finished second, the second stage, from Roubaix to Metz, went through Alsace-Lorraine, which was in 1908 part of the German Empire. As in previous years, nails had been thrown on the road and this stage was won by Petit-Breton with Passerieu in second place
5.
Tour de France
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The Tour de France is an annual multiple stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally making passes through nearby countries. The race was first organized in 1903 to increase sales for the newspaper LAuto, the race has been held annually since its first edition in 1903 except when it was stopped for the two World Wars. As the Tour gained prominence and popularity the race was lengthened, participation expanded from a primarily French field, as riders from all over the world began to participate in the race each year. The Tour is a UCI World Tour event, which means that the teams compete in the race are mostly UCI WorldTeams. Traditionally, the race is primarily in the month of July. The modern editions of the Tour de France consist of 21 day-long segments over a 23-day period, the race alternates between clockwise and counterclockwise circuits of France. The number of teams usually varies between 20 and 22, with nine riders in each, all of the stages are timed to the finish, the riders times are compounded with their previous stage times. The rider with the lowest aggregate time is the leader of the race, gaining a stage win is also a hotly contested competition, fought for by a specialist cycling sprinter on each team. The Tour de France was created in 1903, the roots of the Tour de France trace back to the emergence of two rival sports newspapers in the country. On the one hand was Le Vélo, the first and the largest daily newspaper in France which sold 80,000 copies a day. On the other was LAuto, which had been set-up by journalists and business-people including Comte Jules-Albert de Dion, Adolphe Clément, the new newspaper appointed Henri Desgrange as the editor. He was a prominent cyclist and owner with Victor Goddet of the velodrome at the Parc des Princes, De Dion knew him through his cycling reputation, through the books and cycling articles that he had written, and through press articles he had written for the Clément tyre company. LAuto was not the success its backers wanted, stagnating sales lower than the rival it was intended to surpass led to a crisis meeting on 20 November 1902 on the middle floor of LAutos office at 10 Rue du Faubourg Montmartre, Paris. The last to speak was the most junior there, the chief cycling journalist, Desgrange had poached him from Giffards paper. Lefèvre suggested a six-day race of the sort popular on the track, long-distance cycle races were a popular means to sell more newspapers, but nothing of the length that Lefèvre suggested had been attempted. If it succeeded, it would help LAuto match its rival and it could, as Desgrange said, nail Giffards beak shut. Desgrange and Lefèvre discussed it after lunch, Desgrange was doubtful but the papers financial director, Victor Goddet, was enthusiastic. He handed Desgrange the keys to the safe and said
6.
Henri Desgrange
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Henri Desgrange was a French bicycle racer and sports journalist. He set 12 world track cycling records, including the record of 35.325 kilometres on 11 May 1893. He was the first organiser of the Tour de France, Henri Desgrange was born into a comfortably prosperous middle-class family living in Paris. His twin brother, Georges Desgrange, was described as having the air of a defrocked monk. Desgrange worked as a clerk at the Depeux-Dumesnil law office near the Place de Clichy in Paris, legend says he was fired from there either for cycling to work or for exposing the outline of his calves in tight socks as he did so. Preferring a life in sport to a career in law, he began a dedication to sport that lasted the rest of his life, Desgrange saw his first bicycle race in 1891 when he went to the finish of Bordeaux–Paris. He began racing on the track but suffered by lacking a powerful acceleration, endurance riding suited him better, and he set the first recognised hour record when on 11 May 1893 he rode 35.325 km on the Buffalo velodrome in Paris. He also established records at 50 and 100 km and 100 miles and he wrote a training book in 1894, La tête et les jambes, in which he conducted a conversation with an unnamed younger rider thought to be his younger self. The book included the advice that a rider has no more need of a woman than an unwashed pair of socks. In 1894 he wrote another book, Alphonse Marcaux, in 1897 he became director of the Parc des Princes velodrome and then in December 1903 of Frances first permanent indoor track, the Vélodrome dHiver, near the Eiffel Tower. France at the end of the 19th century was split over the guilt or innocence of a soldier, Alfred Dreyfus, who had been convicted of selling secrets to the Germans. The leading sports paper, Le Vélo - it sold 80,000 copies a day - mixed sports reporting with news and political comment, a row between them and the editor, Pierre Giffard, led to the advertisers withdrawing their custom and planning a paper of their own. An alternative version has it that Giffard banished the advertisers, the same went for the man who became Desgranges business partner, Victor Goddet, another velodrome director. Desgranges enthusiasm, his ability, his writing and the press work he had done for Clément persuaded the group to appoint him as editor. The writer Geoffrey Nicholson said of Desgrange, He was outwardly flamboyant, privately cautious, but he was clearly no political die-hard, for as a writer he modelled himself on Émile Zola, who had been the most reviled of all defenders of Dreyfus. Desgrange gave the impression - correctly - that he wasnt a man to welcome consultation, the first issue of LAuto-Vélo appeared on 16 October 1900. The title was chosen to reflect the enthusiasm at the time for car racing as the sport of the future, Geoffrey Nicholson pointed out the way in which Desgrange modelled his writing on Zola. Of riders in Paris–Brest–Paris, he wrote, There are four of them, and at night a peasant waiting for them by a deserted road will see four demons passing by, and the noise of their desperate panting will freeze his heart and fill it with terror
7.
Alcyon
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The Alcyon was a French bicycle, automobile and motorcycle manufacturer between 1903 and 1954. Alcyon originated from about 1890 when Edmond Gentil started the manufacture of bicycles in Neuilly, in 1902, this was complemented by motorcycle production and in 1906, the first cars were shown at the fair Mondial de lAutomobile in Paris, France. Also in 1906 it founded the professional Alcyon cycling team which was active until 1955, in 1912 Alcyon competed at the Isle of Man TT races with a 348cc single-cylinder engine featuring two inlet valves and two exhaust valves. Both bikes failed to finish the Junior TT race, Alcyon had local success in France during the 1920s, with riders such as Marc Jolly, Marcel Mourrier, Jean Durand and Lucien Lemasson winning races. During this time too, this bicycle brand got its nickname lintrépide Alcyon, two models were shown in 1906, one a two seat light car with single-cylinder 950 cc engine and a larger four seat model with 1. 4-litre four-cylinder engine. Both engines were bought in from Gentil, the cars were advanced models with 3-speed gearboxes and shaft drive. However, the models were dropped in 1912 and larger models of up to 2120 cc were added to the range. By then, most of the engines were obtained from Zurcher, the company moved to Courbevoie, Seine in 1912. In 1914, the name was changed to Automobiles Alcyon. After the war, the first model was a 1914 cc four-cylinder model, some examples of which were tuned and sold by the Lyons agent as Alycon-GLs and performed quite well in competition. However, the car was not a success and did not sell well, so in 1923, Alcyon moved into the production of cyclecars, later the company manufactured another cyclecar of similar design, thought this one featured a single-cylinder engine. This proved a flop, and the company failed in 1928
8.
Peugeot
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For the article about the bicycle manufacturer, see Cycles Peugeot. Peugeot is a French car manufacturer, part of Groupe PSA, the family business that preceded the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Émile Peugeot applied for the lion trademark, due to family discord, Armand Peugeot in 1896 founded the Société des Automobiles Peugeot. The Peugeot company and family are originally from Sochaux, France, Peugeot retains a large manufacturing plant and Peugeot museum there. In February 2014, the agreed to a recapitalisation plan, in which Dongfeng Motors. Peugeot has received international awards for its vehicles, including five European Car of the Year awards. In 2013 and 2014, Peugeot ranked the second lowest for average CO2 emissions among generalist brands in Europe, the Renault car maker group being ranked first, with 114. 9g CO2/km. Peugeot is known as a very reliable brand, citing how its 1950s and 1960s models are running in Africa and Cuba in the 2010s. Peugeot has been involved in sport for more than a century. In 2015, Peugeot returned to the Dakar Rally after its four victories in the 1980s, the Peugeot family of Valentigney, Montbéliard, Franche-Comté, France, began in the manufacturing business in the 19th century. In 1842, they added production of coffee, pepper, the companys entry into the vehicle market was by means of crinoline dresses, which used steel rods, leading to umbrella frames, saw blades, chisels, wire wheels, and bicycles. Armand Peugeot introduced his Le Grand Bi penny-farthing in 1882, along with a range of other bicycles, the car company and bike company parted ways in 1926 but Peugeot bicycles continued to be built until very recently. Armand Peugeot became interested in the early on and, after meeting with Gottlieb Daimler. The first Peugeot automobile, a three-wheeled, steam-powered car designed by Léon Serpollet, was produced in 1889, steam power was heavy and bulky and required lengthy warmup times. In 1890, after meeting Daimler and Émile Levassor, steam was abandoned in favour of a car with a petrol-fuelled internal combustion engine built by Panhard under Daimler licence. The car was more sophisticated than many of its contemporaries, with a three-point suspension, an example was sold to the young Alberto Santos-Dumont, who exported it to Brazil. More cars followed,29 being built in 1892,40 in 1894,72 in 1895,156 in 1898 and these early models were given type numbers. Peugeot became the first manufacturer to fit rubber tyres to a petrol-powered car, Peugeot was an early pioneer in motor racing, with Albert Lemaître winning the worlds first motor race, the Paris–Rouen, in a 3 hp Peugeot
9.
Louis Trousselier
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Louis Trousselier was a French racing cyclist. He was born in Levallois-Perret, Hauts de Seine in 1881, some say on January 29. He died in Paris on April 24,1939 and he is most famous for his 1905 victory in the 1905 Tour de France. His other major wins were Paris–Roubaix, also in 1905, and he came third in the 1906 Tour de France and won 13 stages of the Tour de France over his career. He also competed in the mens 25 kilometres event at the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier, known as Trou-Trou, came from a rich family which had a flower business in central Paris. For that reason, when Henri Desgrange, the first organiser of the Tour, sought to popularise competitors by giving them nicknames, trousseliers brothers Léopold and André were also cyclists. After competing in the 1900 Summer Olympics, Trousselier turned professional, in 1903, Louis Trousselier rode Bordeaux–Paris, which was his first long race. He finished in place, behind Hippolyte Aucouturier. However, a few later he was disqualified, because he had taken shelter behind a car during the race. When the newspaper that organized Bordeaux–Paris organized the first Tour de France later that year and he dominated the race winning five stages, completing the 3,021 km in 110 hours 26 minutes and 58 second at an average speed of 27.48 km. He won with 35 points ahead of Hippolyte Aucouturier and Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq, victory brought him all his prizes, contracts to ride all over France and a bonus from his sponsor. But that night, in a cabin in Paris, he lost the whole lot playing dice with friends. Theres always another Tour to win it again, he is reputed to have said. The one bet that he did win was that the army would forgive him for overstaying his leave and he rode the Tour well again in 1906 but never to the level of the previous year, nevertheless winning stages and finishing third. He became a specialist in long-distance racing, in 1908 winning Bordeaux–Paris 26 minutes ahead of the next rider and he twice came second in the race and once third. He came second in the 1906 Bol dOr 24-hour race at the Vélodrome Buffalo in Paris and he rode a six-day event on the track, although he decided against specialising in what could have been a profitable career. He stopped racing just before World War I and took over the family business, Trousselier had an entertaining personality and a taste for practical jokes. He was known for training with friends and stopping them at the most expensive restaurant they could find
10.
1905 Tour de France
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The 1905 Tour de France was the third edition of the Tour de France, held from 9 to 30 July, organized by the newspaper LAuto. Following the disqualifications after the 1904 Tour de France, there were changes in the rules, the race saw the introduction of mountains in the Tour de France, and René Pottier excelled in the first mountain, although he could not finish the race. Due in part to some of the changes, the 1905 Tour de France had less cheating and sabotage than in previous years. It was won by Louis Trousselier, who won four of the eleven stages. Maurice Garin was originally banned for two years and Pothier for life, so they were ineligible to start the 1905 Tour de France, of these four, only Aucouturier, started the 1905 Tour. They were disqualified by the Union Vélocipédique Française, based on accusations of cheating when there were no race officials around. In 1904 Tour, it was difficult to observe the cyclists continuously, as significant portions of the race were run overnight, the number of stages increased to 11 stages, almost double from the previous year. The winner was selected on points, not time, the first cyclist to cross the finish line received 1 point. Other cyclists received one point more than the cyclist who passed the line directly before him, in this way, a cyclist could not get more than 11 points more than the cyclist that crossed the finish line just before him. As an example for this point system, the result for the first seven cyclists in the first stage is in this table, Desgrange accepted it, saying that Steinès would take the blame if the mountains would be too hard to climb. In the two editions, the highest point was the Col de la République at 1,145 metres. In 1905, Desgrange chose to overlook this, and focused instead on the introduction of the Ballon dAlsace, there were two categories of riders, the coureurs de vitesse and the coureurs sur machines poinçonnées. The riders in the first category were allowed to bicycles, which could be an advantage in the mountains. The riders in the machines poinçonnées category had to use the bicycle in the entire race. Before the race started,78 riders had signed up for the race, eighteen of those did not start the race, so the Tour began with 60 riders, including former winner Henri Cornet and future winners René Pottier and Lucien Petit-Breton. The riders were not grouped in teams, but most of them rode with an individual sponsor, two of the cyclists—Catteau and Lootens—were Belgian, all other cyclists were French. Leading up to the start of the Tour, Wattelier, Trousselier, Pottier, despite the rule changes, there were still protesters among the spectators, in the first stage all riders except Jean-Baptiste Dortignacq punctured due to 125 kg of nails spread along the road. The first stage was won by Louis Trousselier, Trousselier was serving the army, and had requested his commander leave for the Tour de France, this was allowed for 24 hours
11.
Paris
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Paris is the capital and most populous city of France. It has an area of 105 square kilometres and a population of 2,229,621 in 2013 within its administrative limits, the agglomeration has grown well beyond the citys administrative limits. By the 17th century, Paris was one of Europes major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts, and it retains that position still today. The aire urbaine de Paris, a measure of area, spans most of the Île-de-France region and has a population of 12,405,426. It is therefore the second largest metropolitan area in the European Union after London, the Metropole of Grand Paris was created in 2016, combining the commune and its nearest suburbs into a single area for economic and environmental co-operation. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometres and has a population of 7 million persons, the Paris Region had a GDP of €624 billion in 2012, accounting for 30.0 percent of the GDP of France and ranking it as one of the wealthiest regions in Europe. The city is also a rail, highway, and air-transport hub served by two international airports, Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Paris-Orly. Opened in 1900, the subway system, the Paris Métro. It is the second busiest metro system in Europe after Moscow Metro, notably, Paris Gare du Nord is the busiest railway station in the world outside of Japan, with 262 millions passengers in 2015. In 2015, Paris received 22.2 million visitors, making it one of the top tourist destinations. The association football club Paris Saint-Germain and the rugby union club Stade Français are based in Paris, the 80, 000-seat Stade de France, built for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, is located just north of Paris in the neighbouring commune of Saint-Denis. Paris hosts the annual French Open Grand Slam tennis tournament on the red clay of Roland Garros, Paris hosted the 1900 and 1924 Summer Olympics and is bidding to host the 2024 Summer Olympics. The name Paris is derived from its inhabitants, the Celtic Parisii tribe. Thus, though written the same, the name is not related to the Paris of Greek mythology. In the 1860s, the boulevards and streets of Paris were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, since the late 19th century, Paris has also been known as Panam in French slang. Inhabitants are known in English as Parisians and in French as Parisiens and they are also pejoratively called Parigots. The Parisii, a sub-tribe of the Celtic Senones, inhabited the Paris area from around the middle of the 3rd century BC. One of the areas major north-south trade routes crossed the Seine on the île de la Cité, this place of land and water trade routes gradually became a town
12.
Roubaix
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Roubaix is a city in Northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area. As regards towns boundaries, Roubaix is encompassed by seven cities which constitute its immediate neighbouring environment, Roubaix, alongside those municipalities and twenty-one other communes, belongs to the land of Ferrain, a little district of the former Castellany of Lille between the Lys and Escaut rivers. As the crow flies, the distance between Roubaix and the cities is some odd,16 kilometres to Tournai,18 kilometres to Kortrijk,84 kilometres to Brussels and 213 kilometres to Paris. This area consists predominantly of Holocene deposits of alluvial origin and it is flat and low, with an elevation drop of only 35 m over its 13.23 square kilometres. The lowest altitude of this stands at 17 m, while its highest altitude is 52 m meters above the sea level. Opened in 1877, the Canal de Roubaix crosses the town from its northern neighbourhoods to its eastern neighbourhoods, the Canal de Roubaix closed in 1985, after more than a century in use. Thank to the European funded project Blue Links, the waterway has been reopened to navigation since 2011, despite some American statements that weather conditions in Roubaix were bad during the 19th century, the area of the city is not known for undergoing unusual weather events. The current citys name is most likely derived from two Frankish words, raus meaning reed and baki meaning brook, thence the sense of Roubaix can probably find its origin on the banks of the three following historical brooks, Espierre, Trichon and Favreuil. The place was mentioned for the first time in a Latinised form in the 9th century, thereafter, the following names were in use,1047 and 1106 Rubais,1122 Rosbays,1166 Rusbais,1156 and 1202 Robais,1223 Roubais. Over the span of centuries, the name evolved to Roubaix as shown on Mercators map of Flanders published at Leuven in 1540, parallel to the official and usual name Roubaix, some translations are worth a mention. Firstly, though the city has never belonged to the Flemish-speaking area, furthermore, the Dutch Language Union established Robaais as the citys proper Dutch name. Inhabitants of Roubaix are known in English as Roubaisians and in French as Roubaisiens or in the feminine form Roubaisiennes, also natively called Roubaignos or in the feminine form Roubaignoses. From the 21st century, communes with more than 10,000 population have sample surveys held every year, by the late 18th century, the city began to emerge as regional textile manufacturing centre and its population increased, reaching a level of 8,091 in 1800. As a result of the process of the 19th century. Belgian settlement was a feature of the Roubaisian life at that time, nonetheless, the rate of natural increase shew to be a more important component of the population growth in that period. At the 20th century threshold, the Roubaisian population reached a peak of 124,661, the population of the city was 95,866 at the January 2013 census. This enables Roubaix to remain the third largest municipality in the region Hauts-de-France, after Lille and this spoken vernacular is locally known as Roubaignot. Until the early 20th century this patois prevailed, in the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, many Jews left their homes and emigrated
13.
Metz
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Metz is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Great East region, located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany, and Luxembourg, the city forms a central place of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion. The city has been steeped in Romance culture, but has strongly influenced by Germanic culture due to its location. Because of its historical, cultural, and architectural background, Metz has been submitted on Frances UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List, Metz is home to some world-class venues including the Arsenal Concert Hall and the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum. A basin of urban ecology, Metz gained its nickname of The Green City, as it has extensive open grounds, the historic city centre is one of the largest commercial pedestrian areas in France. A historic garrison town, Metz is the heart of the Lorraine region, specialising in information technology. In ancient times, the town was known as city of Mediomatrici, after its integration into the Roman Empire, the city was called Divodurum Mediomatricum, meaning Holy Village or Holy Fortress of the Mediomatrici, then it was known as Mediomatrix. During the 5th century AD, the name evolved to Mettis, Metz has a recorded history dating back over 3,000 years. Before the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, between the 6th and 8th centuries, the city was the residence of the Merovingian kings of Austrasia. After the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Metz became the capital of the Kingdom of Lotharingia and was integrated into the Holy Roman Empire. During the 12th century, Metz rose to the status of Republic, with the signature of the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, Metz passed to the hands of the Kings of France. Under French rule, Metz was selected as capital of the Three Bishoprics, with creation of the departments by the Estates-General of 1789, Metz was chosen as capital of the Department of Moselle. Metz remained German until the end of World War I, when it reverted to France, however, after the Battle of France during the Second World War, the city was annexed once more by the German Third Reich. In 1944, the attack on the city by the U. S, Third Army freed the city from German rule and Metz reverted one more time to France after World War II. During the 1950s, Metz was chosen to be the capital of the newly created Lorraine region, with the creation of the European Community and the later European Union, the city has become central to the Greater Region and the SaarLorLux Euroregion. Metz is located on the banks of the Moselle and the Seille rivers,43 km from the Schengen tripoint where the borders of France, Germany, and Luxembourg meet. The city was built in a place where branches of the Moselle river creates several islands. The terrain of Metz forms part of the Paris Basin and presents a plateau relief cut by river valleys presenting cuestas in the north-south direction
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Belfort
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Belfort is a city in northeastern France in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté région, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg. It is the biggest town and the town of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. Belfort is 400 km from Paris,141 km from Strasbourg,290 km from Lyon and 150 km from Zürich, the residents of the city are called ‘’Belfortains’’. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate. The city of Belfort has 50,199 inhabitants, together with its suburbs and satellite towns, Belfort forms the largest agglomeration in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region with an urban population of 308,601 inhabitants. Belforts strategic location, in a gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement. The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard. Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia, the towns fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV. Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace, the Siege of Belfort, between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. The region was not annexed by Prussia like the rest of Alsace and was exchanged for territories in the vicinity of Metz. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort, the siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi. Alsatians who sought a new French home in Belfort made a significant contribution to its industry, the town was bombarded by the German army during World War I and occupied by it during World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held off the French First Army outside the town until French Commandos made a night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November 1944, Belfort is a place with heavy industries, mostly dedicated to railway and turbines. Belfort is the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs were produced, as well as being the GE Energy European headquarter and a centre of excellence for the manufacturing of gas turbines. Like many other European cities, motor traffic in Belfort increases continually, Belfort is situated at only 25 mi from the commercial port of Mulhouse-Rhin which allows international transit. Motorway A36 from Beaune to Mulhouse is routed around the south and it forms the main axis linking Belfort to other French and foreign cities. A national road, N19, is main road which joins the south of Belfort with Paris, Nancy
Louis Trousselier (FRA)
Eberardo Pavesi (ITA)
François Faber (LUX)
Aloïs Catteau (BEL)
Media related to 1907 Tour de France at Wikimedia Commons
