1.
Communes of France
–
The commune is a level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to civil townships incorporated municipalities in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany, the United Kingdom has no exact equivalent, as communes resemble districts in urban areas, but are closer to parishes in rural areas where districts are much larger. Communes are based on historical geographic communities or villages and have received significant powers of governance to manage the populations, the communes are the fourth-level administrative divisions of France. A French commune may be a city of 2.2 million inhabitants like Paris, communes typically are based on pre-existing villages and facilitate local governance. All communes have names, but not all named geographic areas or groups of people residing together are communes, a commune is a town, city, or municipality. Use of commune in English is a habit, and one that might be corrected. There is nothing in commune in French that is different from town in English. The French word commune appeared in the 12th century, from Medieval Latin communia, as of January 2015, there were 36,681 communes in France,36,552 of them in metropolitan France and 129 of them overseas. This is a higher total than that of any other European country. The whole territory of the French Republic is divided into communes and this is unlike some other countries, such as the United States, where unincorporated areas directly governed by a county or a higher authority can be found. There are only a few exceptions, COM of Saint-Martin and it was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe région. The commune structure was abolished when Saint-Martin became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007, COM of Wallis and Futuna, which still is divided according to the three traditional chiefdoms. It was previously a commune inside the Guadeloupe region, the commune structure was abolished when Saint-Barthélemy became an overseas collectivity on 22 February 2007.88 square kilometres. The median area of metropolitan Frances communes at the 1999 census was even smaller, the median area is a better measure of the area of a typical French commune. This median area is smaller than that of most European countries. In Italy, the area of communes is 22 km2, in Belgium it is 40 km2, in Spain it is 35 km2, and in Germany. Switzerland and the Länder of Rhineland-Palatinate, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia in Germany were the places in Europe where the communes had a smaller median area than in France. The communes of Frances overseas départements such as Réunion and French Guiana are large by French standards and they usually group into the same commune several villages or towns, often with sizeable distances among them
Communes of France
–
Road sign marking the end of the village of
Y in the
Somme department of
Picardy
Communes of France
–
Map of the 36,569 communes of metropolitan France
Communes of France
–
Mittelhausbergen in
Alsace
Communes of France
–
Vacqueyras in
Provence, showing double French/
Provençal name
2.
Paris
–
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
Paris
–
In the 1860s Paris streets and monuments were illuminated by 56,000 gas lamps, making it literally "The City of Light."
Paris
Paris
–
Gold coins minted by the Parisii (1st century BC)
Paris
–
The
Palais de la Cité and
Sainte-Chapelle, viewed from the Left Bank, from the
Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry (month of June) (1410)
3.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
4.
France
–
France, officially the French Republic, is a country with territory in western Europe and several overseas regions and territories. The European, or metropolitan, area of France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, Overseas France include French Guiana on the South American continent and several island territories in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian oceans. France spans 643,801 square kilometres and had a population of almost 67 million people as of January 2017. It is a unitary republic with the capital in Paris. Other major urban centres include Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Nice, Toulouse, during the Iron Age, what is now metropolitan France was inhabited by the Gauls, a Celtic people. The area was annexed in 51 BC by Rome, which held Gaul until 486, France emerged as a major European power in the Late Middle Ages, with its victory in the Hundred Years War strengthening state-building and political centralisation. During the Renaissance, French culture flourished and a colonial empire was established. The 16th century was dominated by civil wars between Catholics and Protestants. France became Europes dominant cultural, political, and military power under Louis XIV, in the 19th century Napoleon took power and established the First French Empire, whose subsequent Napoleonic Wars shaped the course of continental Europe. Following the collapse of the Empire, France endured a succession of governments culminating with the establishment of the French Third Republic in 1870. Following liberation in 1944, a Fourth Republic was established and later dissolved in the course of the Algerian War, the Fifth Republic, led by Charles de Gaulle, was formed in 1958 and remains to this day. Algeria and nearly all the colonies became independent in the 1960s with minimal controversy and typically retained close economic. France has long been a centre of art, science. It hosts Europes fourth-largest number of cultural UNESCO World Heritage Sites and receives around 83 million foreign tourists annually, France is a developed country with the worlds sixth-largest economy by nominal GDP and ninth-largest by purchasing power parity. In terms of household wealth, it ranks fourth in the world. France performs well in international rankings of education, health care, life expectancy, France remains a great power in the world, being one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council with the power to veto and an official nuclear-weapon state. It is a member state of the European Union and the Eurozone. It is also a member of the Group of 7, North Atlantic Treaty Organization, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the World Trade Organization, originally applied to the whole Frankish Empire, the name France comes from the Latin Francia, or country of the Franks
France
–
One of the
Lascaux paintings: a horse –
Dordogne, approximately 18,000 BC
France
–
Flag
France
–
The
Maison Carrée was a temple of the
Gallo-Roman city of Nemausus (present-day
Nîmes) and is one of the best preserved vestiges of the
Roman Empire.
France
–
With
Clovis ' conversion to Catholicism in 498, the
Frankish monarchy,
elective and
secular until then, became
hereditary and of
divine right.
5.
Regions of France
–
France is divided into 18 administrative regions, including 13 metropolitan regions and 5 overseas regions. The current legal concept of region was adopted in 1982, the term région was officially created by the Law of Decentralisation, which also gave regions their legal status. The first direct elections for representatives took place on 16 March 1986. In 2016, the number of regions was reduced from 27 to 18 through amalgamation, in 2014, the French parliament passed a law reducing the number of metropolitan regions from 22 to 13 with effect from 1 January 2016. However, the region of Upper and Lower Normandy is simply called Normandy. Permanent names were to be proposed by the new regional councils by 1 July 2016, the legislation defining the new regions also allowed the Centre region to officially change its name to Centre-Val de Loire with effect from January 2015. Two regions, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, opted to retain their interim names, between 1982 and 2015, there were 22 regions in Metropolitan France. Before 2011, there were four regions, in 2011 Mayotte became the fifth. Regions lack separate legislative authority and therefore cannot write their own statutory law and they levy their own taxes and, in return, receive a decreasing part of their budget from the central government, which gives them a portion of the taxes it levies. They also have considerable budgets managed by a council made up of representatives voted into office in regional elections. A regions primary responsibility is to build and furnish high schools, in March 2004, the French central government unveiled a controversial plan to transfer regulation of certain categories of non-teaching school staff to the regional authorities. Critics of this plan contended that tax revenue was insufficient to pay for the costs. In addition, regions have considerable power over infrastructural spending, e. g. education, public transit, universities and research. This has meant that the heads of regions such as Île-de-France or Rhône-Alpes can be high-profile positions. Number of regions controlled by each coalition since 1986, Overseas region is a recent designation, given to the overseas departments that have similar powers to those of the regions of metropolitan France. Radio France Internationale in English Overseas regions Ministère de lOutre-Mer some explanations about the past and current developments of DOMs and TOMs
Regions of France
6.
Departments of France
–
In the administrative divisions of France, the department is one of the three levels of government below the national level, between the administrative regions and the commune. There are 96 departments in metropolitan France and 5 overseas departments, each department is administered by an elected body called a departmental council. From 1800 to April 2015, they were called general councils, the departments were created in 1791 as a rational replacement of Ancien Régime provinces with a view to strengthen national unity, the title department is used to mean a part of a larger whole. Almost all of them were named after geographical features rather than after historical or cultural territories which could have their own loyalties. The earliest known suggestion of it is from 1764 in the writings of dArgenson and they have inspired similar divisions in many countries, some of them former French colonies. Most French departments are assigned a number, the Official Geographical Code. Some overseas departments have a three-digit number, the number is used, for example, in the postal code, and was until recently used for all vehicle registration plates. For example, inhabitants of Loiret might refer to their department as the 45 and this reform project has since been abandoned. The first French territorial departments were proposed in 1665 by Marc-René dArgenson to serve as administrative areas purely for the Ponts et Chaussées infrastructure administration, before the French Revolution, France gained territory gradually through the annexation of a mosaic of independent entities. By the close of the Ancien Régime, it was organised into provinces, during the period of the Revolution, these were dissolved, partly in order to weaken old loyalties. Their boundaries served two purposes, Boundaries were chosen to break up Frances historical regions in an attempt to erase cultural differences, Boundaries were set so that every settlement in the country was within a days ride of the capital of the department. This was a security measure, intended to keep the national territory under close control. This measure was directly inspired by the Great Terror, during which the government had lost control of rural areas far from any centre of government. The old nomenclature was carefully avoided in naming the new departments, most were named after an areas principal river or other physical features. Even Paris was in the department of Seine, the number of departments, initially 83, was increased to 130 by 1809 with the territorial gains of the Republic and of the First French Empire. Following Napoleons defeats in 1814-1815, the Congress of Vienna returned France to its pre-war size, in 1860, France acquired the County of Nice and Savoy, which led to the creation of three new departments. Two were added from the new Savoyard territory, while the department of Alpes-Maritimes was created from Nice, the 89 departments were given numbers based on their alphabetical order. The department of Bas-Rhin and parts of Meurthe, Moselle, Vosges and Haut-Rhin were ceded to the German Empire in 1871, following Frances defeat in the Franco-Prussian War
Departments of France
–
Geometrical proposition rejected
Departments of France
–
The 101 departments of France
Departments of France
–
The three Algerian departments in 1848
7.
Grand Paris
–
The Métropole du Grand Paris is an administrative structure for cooperation covering the City of Paris and its nearest suburbs. Grand Paris covers 814 square kilometers and has a population of 7 million persons, the Métropole is administered by a Metropolitan Council of 210 members, not directly elected, but chosen by the councils of the member Communes. Its responsibilities include urban planning, housing, and protection of the environment, the Métropole du Grand Paris should not be confused with the Grand Paris Express, a new transportation system being developed independently to connect the Departments in the Paris suburbs. The Métropole du Grand Paris was defined by the law of 27 January 2014 on the modernization of public territorial action and affirmation of cities as part of Act III of decentralization. The plans were modified in December 2015, and the passage into action in two competences, economic development and protection of the environment, was delayed from 2016 to 2017. The project was organized by the French state, with the Minister of Culture, in 2008 an international urban and architectural competition for the future development of metropolitan Paris was launched. The Métropole of Grand Paris is developing a metropolitan project, the residents are associated with its development according to the guidelines determined by the metropolitan council as laid down by the development council. This metropolitan project defines the guidelines of the policy pursued by the Métropole of Grand Paris. It forms part of the implementation of the scheme of the Ile-de-France region. It includes a general, social, economic and environmental analysis of the metropolitan area, independently to the process described above, a position of Minister for Le Grand Paris was created and Christian Blanc was appointed to occupy it. Blanc and his team prepared a plan, announced on April 29,2009. The Île-de-France region had already published its own transportation plan, later, the architects of the consultation joined together to present a third transportation plan. After much negotiation, a compromise between the government the Île-de-France regional government was announced in January 2011 and the final plan subsequently approved. The transport plan will be carried out in ten years, at a cost of 35 billion euros funded by the state, local governments, another 14 billion euros will be spent in the extension and re-equipment of existing metro, regional and suburban lines. In October 2011, Delanoë stated that the President is trying to claim for himself an urban dynamic begun long ago by the local governments, political opposition was also strong from the Green Party, led in the Île-de-France region by Cécile Duflot
Grand Paris
–
The map of Grand Paris
8.
Daylight saving time
–
Daylight saving time is the practice of advancing clocks during summer months by one hour so that evening daylight lasts an hour longer, while sacrificing normal sunrise times. Typically, regions that use Daylight Savings Time adjust clocks forward one hour close to the start of spring, American inventor and politician Benjamin Franklin proposed a form of daylight time in 1784. New Zealander George Hudson proposed the idea of saving in 1895. The German Empire and Austria-Hungary organized the first nationwide implementation, starting on April 30,1916, many countries have used it at various times since then, particularly since the energy crisis of the 1970s. The practice has both advocates and critics, DST clock shifts sometimes complicate timekeeping and can disrupt travel, billing, record keeping, medical devices, heavy equipment, and sleep patterns. Computer software often adjusts clocks automatically, but policy changes by various jurisdictions of DST dates, industrialized societies generally follow a clock-based schedule for daily activities that do not change throughout the course of the year. The time of day that individuals begin and end work or school, North and south of the tropics daylight lasts longer in summer and shorter in winter, with the effect becoming greater as one moves away from the tropics. However, they will have one hour of daylight at the start of each day. Supporters have also argued that DST decreases energy consumption by reducing the need for lighting and heating, DST is also of little use for locations near the equator, because these regions see only a small variation in daylight in the course of the year. After ancient times, equal-length civil hours eventually supplanted unequal, so civil time no longer varies by season, unequal hours are still used in a few traditional settings, such as some monasteries of Mount Athos and all Jewish ceremonies. This 1784 satire proposed taxing window shutters, rationing candles, and waking the public by ringing church bells, despite common misconception, Franklin did not actually propose DST, 18th-century Europe did not even keep precise schedules. However, this changed as rail transport and communication networks came to require a standardization of time unknown in Franklins day. Modern DST was first proposed by the New Zealand entomologist George Hudson, whose shift work job gave him time to collect insects. An avid golfer, he also disliked cutting short his round at dusk and his solution was to advance the clock during the summer months, a proposal he published two years later. The proposal was taken up by the Liberal Member of Parliament Robert Pearce, a select committee was set up to examine the issue, but Pearces bill did not become law, and several other bills failed in the following years. Willett lobbied for the proposal in the UK until his death in 1915, william Sword Frost, mayor of Orillia, Ontario, introduced daylight saving time in the municipality during his tenure from 1911 to 1912. Starting on April 30,1916, the German Empire and its World War I ally Austria-Hungary were the first to use DST as a way to conserve coal during wartime, Britain, most of its allies, and many European neutrals soon followed suit. Russia and a few other countries waited until the year
Daylight saving time
–
Ancient
water clock that lets hour lengths vary with season.
Daylight saving time
–
G. V. Hudson invented modern DST, proposing it first in 1895.
Daylight saving time
–
Retailers generally favor DST.
United Cigar Stores hailed a 1918 DST bill.
Daylight saving time
–
William Willett independently proposed DST in 1907 and advocated it tirelessly.
9.
Central European Summer Time
–
It corresponds to UTC + two hours. Other names which have been applied to Central European Summer Time are Middle European Summer Time, Central European Daylight Saving Time, and Bravo Time. Since 1996 European Summer Time has been observed between 1,00 UTC on the last Sunday of March and 1,00 on the last Sunday of October, the following countries and territories use Central European Summer Time. In addition, Libya used CEST during the years 1951–1959, 1982–1989, 1996–1997, European Summer Time Other countries and territories in UTC+2 time zone Other names of UTC+2 time zone
Central European Summer Time
–
light blue
10.
Kilometre Zero
–
In many countries, Kilometre Zero or similar terms in other languages is a particular location, from which distances are traditionally measured. They were markers where drivers could set their odometers to follow directions in early guide books, a similar notion also exists for individual roads, and for individual cities. The most famous such marker of any part survives from ancient times is the Milliarium Aureum of the Roman Empire. Argentina marks Kilometre Zero with a monolith in Plaza Congreso in Buenos Aires. The work of the brothers Máximo and José Fioravanti, the structure was placed on the side of Plaza Lorea on October 2,1935. Highways in Australia are usually built and maintained by the states and territories, in the state of New South Wales, highway distances were traditionally measured from a sandstone obelisk in Macquarie Place in Sydney, designed by Francis Greenway in 1818. The obelisk lists the distances to locations in New South Wales at the time. For the railway, it is located at platform 1 of Sydney Central Station, the Byzantine Empire had an arched building, the Milion of Constantinople, as the starting-place for the measurement of distances for all the roads leading to the other cities. In the 1960s, some fragments were discovered and erected in its location, now in the district of Eminönü, Istanbul. The kilometre zero marker of the origin of the Trans-Canada Highway is located in St. Johns. Coordinates, 47°33′39. 78″N 52°42′44. 33″W Altitude,14.02 m The western origin of the Trans-Canada Highway in Victoria, Mile zero of the Trans Canada Trail is located adjacent to the Railway Coastal Museum in St. Johns, Newfoundland. Coordinates, 47°33′14. 0″N 52°42′50. 5″W Altitude,4.5 m Mile zero for the Alaska Highway is located in Dawson Creek, all national distances from Santiago originate at the Km.0 plaque, located at the Plaza de Armas main square in downtown Santiago. Chiles Autopista Central – Eje Norte-Sur has its Kilometre Zero at the intersection with the Alameda del Libertador Bernardo OHiggins, China Railways 0 km is located at the entrance to the Fengtai Yard on the Jingguang Line just outside Beijing. This point was historically the start of the line, the marker is a concrete marker. The kilometre zero point for highways is located at Tiananmen Square and it is marked with a plaque in the ground, with the four cardinal points, four animals, and Zero Point of Highways, China in English and Chinese. Cubas Kilometre Zero is located in its capital Havana in El Capitolio, embedded in the floor in the centre of the main hall is a replica 25 carat diamond, which marks Kilometre Zero for Cuba. It was replaced in El Capitolio by a replica in 1973, dR-1, DR-2, and DR-3 all depart from Kilometre Zero from Santo Domingos Parque de Independencia. Kilometre Zero in Egypt is located at the Attaba Square Post Office in 1st of Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha Street, Cairo
Kilometre Zero
–
Kilometre Zero, Buenos Aires
Kilometre Zero
–
Reconstruction of Constantinople's Milion based on historical accounts and surviving fragments.
Kilometre Zero
–
The Mile 0 point for the
Alaska Highway in
Dawson Creek
Kilometre Zero
–
Kilometre Zero at Plaza de Armas in
Santiago, Chile.
11.
National Veterinary School of Alfort
–
The National veterinary school of Alfort, is a French public institution of scientific research and higher education in veterinary medicine, located in Maisons-Alfort, Val-de-Marne, close to Paris. It is operated under the supervision of the ministry of Agriculture and this is one of the four schools providing veterinary education in France. See detailed article Veterinary education in France The school was established in 1765 by Claude Bourgelat, today the school contains about 700 students,75 lecturers, and 45 researchers. It also contains a most unusual museum, the Fragonard Museum, and a garden and this site is served by Paris métro station École vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort. Jardin botanique de lÉcole nationale vétérinaire dAlfort Musée Fragonard dAlfort École nationale vétérinaire dAlfort Wikimapia entry
National Veterinary School of Alfort
–
The entrance gate
12.
Fort de Charenton
–
Fort de Charenton is a fortification built in 1842 in the community of Maisons-Alfort, and part of the Paris defences planned by Adolphe Thiers. After the fall of Napoleon I in 1814, and again after Napoleons defeat at Waterloo in 1815, to counter new invasion and occupation, defensive works were planned. In 1841 a new fortified enclosure of Paris was proposed, becoming known as the Thiers wall after its chief proponent, prime minister Adolphe Thiers. The plan involved the construction of a new fortified wall around an expanded Paris, the Thiers wall proper, the Fort de Charenton was planned as part of this system. Presently occupied by the National Gendarmerie, the fort saw passing regiments as well as occupation forces at the time of the Franco-Prussian war of 1870. Before the Napoleonic Wars, Paris had not been invaded by an army since the Hundred Years War. Louis-Philippe, proclaimed king of the French in 1830, was convinced that the key to the defense of France was to prevent Paris from falling too easily into the hands of foreign armies, as in 1814. He conceived a project to build an enclosure of fortifications around the capital that would make the city impregnable, the first project was presented to the Chambre des Députés at the beginning of 1833 by Marshal Soult, President of the Council and Minister of War. The proposal was opposed by the Left, which suspected, or pretended to suspect. The Left claimed that the fortifications were intended not to defend France. With the walls surrounding Paris a system of 16 detached forts was added, placed a few kilometers away as a first line of defence, among them was the Fort de Charenton. The Fort de Charenton is a work located in the town of Maisons-Alfort. It later took the name of the town it was to defend, the fort cost 5 million francs at the time, equivalent to 9 million current euros. The fort was proposed for the plateau of Charenton-Saint-Maurice, where land was purchased. In the middle of the 19th century, Maisons-Alfort was open country, the hill finally chosen, the Butte de Gramont, had clear lines of fire, apart from the National Veterinary School of Alfort, to the northwest. The fort commands Route Nationale 6 to Geneva and Route Nationale 19 to Belfort along with the Pont de Charenton on the Marne, the fort was built according to the Vauban system. Construction required a site of about 26 hectares, with accompanying difficulties with expropriation from the existing owners, the fort itself occupies an area of approximately 10 hectares with a perimeter of about 1500 metres. The first stone was laid by Louis-Philippe on 19 April 1841 only two weeks after construction was authorized, and the walls were finished the following year
Fort de Charenton
–
Entry, Fort de Charenton
Fort de Charenton
–
The Poterne des Peupliers, one of the few vestiges still visible of the Thiers Wall
Fort de Charenton
–
Aerial view of the Fort de Charenton, with buildings of the Republican Guard in the foreground, built in the 1930s
Fort de Charenton
–
View of one of the fort's two casemates
13.
Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
–
The National Gendarmerie is one of two national police forces of France. It is a branch of the French Armed Forces placed under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior—with additional duties to the Ministry of Defense and its area of responsibility includes smaller towns and rural areas, while the Police Nationale—a civilian force—is in charge of cities and large towns. Due to its status, the Gendarmerie also fulfills a range of military. The Gendarmes also have a cybercrime division and it has a strength of more than 100,000 personnel as of 2014. The Gendarmerie is heir to the Maréchaussée, the oldest police force in France and it has influenced the culture and traditions of gendarmerie forces all around the world—and especially in the former French colonial empire. The Gendarmerie is the descendant of the Marshalcy of the ancien regime, more commonly known by its French title. During the Middle Ages, there were two Grand Officers of the Kingdom of France with police responsibilities, The Marshal of France, the marshalcy dates back to the Hundred Years War, and some historians trace it back to the early twelfth century. Another organisation, the Constabulary, was under the command of the Constable of France, the constabulary was regularised as a military body in 1337. In 1415 the Maréchaussée fought in the Battle of Agincourt and their commander and his existence was rediscovered in 1934. Gallois de Fougières was then recorded as the first known gendarme to have died in the line of duty. Under King Francis I, the Maréchaussée was merged with the Constabulary, the resulting force was also known as the Maréchaussée, or, formally, the Constabulary and Marshalcy of France. Unlike the former constabulary the new Maréchaussée was not a fully militarized force, in 1720, the Maréchaussée was officially attached to the Household of the King, together with the gendarmerie of the time, which was not a police force at all, but a royal bodyguard. English visitors to France saw their armed and uniformed patrols as royal soldiers with an oppressive role, despite their connection with the king, they were therefore perceived as a force favouring the reforms of the French National Assembly. As a result, the Maréchaussée Royale was not disbanded but simply renamed as the gendarmerie nationale and its personnel remained unchanged, and the functions of the force remained much as before. However, from this point, the gendarmerie, unlike the Maréchaussée became a military force. During the revolutionary period, the force responsible for policing was the National Guard. Although the Maréchaussée had been the police force of the ancien regime. In 1791 the newly named gendarmerie nationale was grouped into 28 divisions, in turn, two companies of gendarmes under the command of captains were based in each department
Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
–
Logo of the National Gendarmerie.
Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
–
A
Gendarme d'élite de la Garde Impériale.
Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
–
The
French Republican Guard is part of the National Gendarmerie and provides security as guards of honour during official ceremonies.
Gendarmerie Nationale (France)
–
Four Ile-de-France Departmental Gendarmes (two bikers) and one Republican Guard.
14.
Medieval Latin
–
Despite the clerical origin of many of its authors, medieval Latin should not be confused with Ecclesiastical Latin. There is no consensus on the exact boundary where Late Latin ends. Medieval Latin had a vocabulary, which freely borrowed from other sources. Greek provided much of the vocabulary of Christianity. The various Germanic languages spoken by the Germanic tribes, who invaded southern Europe, were major sources of new words. Germanic leaders became the rulers of parts of the Roman Empire that they conquered, other more ordinary words were replaced by coinages from Vulgar Latin or Germanic sources because the classical words had fallen into disuse. Latin was also spread to such as Ireland and Germany. Works written in the lands, where Latin was a language with no relation to the local vernacular, also influenced the vocabulary. English words like abstract, subject, communicate, matter, probable, the high point of the development of medieval Latin as a literary language came with the Carolingian renaissance, a rebirth of learning kindled under the patronage of Charlemagne, king of the Franks. On the other hand, strictly speaking there was no form of medieval Latin. Every Latin author in the period spoke Latin as a second language, with varying degrees of fluency, and syntax, grammar. For instance, rather than following the classical Latin practice of placing the verb at the end. Unlike classical Latin, where esse was the auxiliary verb, medieval Latin writers might use habere as an auxiliary, similar to constructions in Germanic. The accusative and infinitive construction in classical Latin was often replaced by a clause introduced by quod or quia. This is almost identical, for example, to the use of que in similar constructions in French. In every age from the late 8th century onwards, there were learned writers who were familiar enough with classical syntax to be aware that these forms and usages were wrong, however the use of quod to introduce subordinate clauses was especially pervasive and is found at all levels. That resulted in two features of Medieval Latin compared with Classical Latin. First, many attempted to show off their knowledge of Classical Latin by using rare or archaic constructions
Medieval Latin
–
Carmina Cantabrigiensia, Medieval Latin manuscript
Medieval Latin
–
Europe, 1000 AD
Medieval Latin
–
An
illuminated manuscript of a
Book of Hours contains prayers in medieval Latin.
Medieval Latin
–
The
Prüfening dedicatory inscription of 1119, composed in medieval Latin.
15.
French Revolution
–
Through the Revolutionary Wars, it unleashed a wave of global conflicts that extended from the Caribbean to the Middle East. Historians widely regard the Revolution as one of the most important events in human history, the causes of the French Revolution are complex and are still debated among historians. Following the Seven Years War and the American Revolutionary War, the French government was deeply in debt, Years of bad harvests leading up to the Revolution also inflamed popular resentment of the privileges enjoyed by the clergy and the aristocracy. Demands for change were formulated in terms of Enlightenment ideals and contributed to the convocation of the Estates-General in May 1789, a central event of the first stage, in August 1789, was the abolition of feudalism and the old rules and privileges left over from the Ancien Régime. The next few years featured political struggles between various liberal assemblies and right-wing supporters of the intent on thwarting major reforms. The Republic was proclaimed in September 1792 after the French victory at Valmy, in a momentous event that led to international condemnation, Louis XVI was executed in January 1793. External threats closely shaped the course of the Revolution, internally, popular agitation radicalised the Revolution significantly, culminating in the rise of Maximilien Robespierre and the Jacobins. Large numbers of civilians were executed by revolutionary tribunals during the Terror, after the Thermidorian Reaction, an executive council known as the Directory assumed control of the French state in 1795. The rule of the Directory was characterised by suspended elections, debt repudiations, financial instability, persecutions against the Catholic clergy, dogged by charges of corruption, the Directory collapsed in a coup led by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1799. The modern era has unfolded in the shadow of the French Revolution, almost all future revolutionary movements looked back to the Revolution as their predecessor. The values and institutions of the Revolution dominate French politics to this day, the French Revolution differed from other revolutions in being not merely national, for it aimed at benefiting all humanity. Globally, the Revolution accelerated the rise of republics and democracies and it became the focal point for the development of all modern political ideologies, leading to the spread of liberalism, radicalism, nationalism, socialism, feminism, and secularism, among many others. The Revolution also witnessed the birth of total war by organising the resources of France, historians have pointed to many events and factors within the Ancien Régime that led to the Revolution. Over the course of the 18th century, there emerged what the philosopher Jürgen Habermas called the idea of the sphere in France. A perfect example would be the Palace of Versailles which was meant to overwhelm the senses of the visitor and convince one of the greatness of the French state and Louis XIV. Starting in the early 18th century saw the appearance of the sphere which was critical in that both sides were active. In France, the emergence of the public sphere outside of the control of the saw the shift from Versailles to Paris as the cultural capital of France. In the 1750s, during the querelle des bouffons over the question of the quality of Italian vs, in 1782, Louis-Sébastien Mercier wrote, The word court no longer inspires awe amongst us as in the time of Louis XIV
French Revolution
–
The
August Insurrection in 1792 precipitated the last days of the monarchy.
French Revolution
–
The French government faced a fiscal crisis in the 1780s, and King Louis XVI was blamed for mishandling these affairs.
French Revolution
–
Caricature of the Third Estate carrying the First Estate (clergy) and the Second Estate (nobility) on its back.
French Revolution
–
The meeting of the Estates General on 5 May 1789 at Versailles.
16.
Peter of Aigueblanche
–
Peter of Aigueblanche was a medieval Bishop of Hereford. A nobleman from Savoy, he came to England as part of the party accompanying King Henry IIIs bride Eleanor of Provence and he entered the royal service, becoming bishop in 1241. He then served the king for a number of years as a diplomat, Peter became embroiled in King Henrys attempts to acquire the kingdom of Sicily, and Peters efforts to raise money towards that goal brought condemnation from the clergy and barons of England. When the barons began to revolt against King Henry in the late 1250s and early 1260s, Peter was attacked and his lands and he was arrested briefly in 1263 by the barons, before being mostly restored to his lands after the Battle of Evesham. Peter was a nobleman from Savoy who arrived in England in 1236 as a clerk of William of Savoy, William was escorting his niece, Eleanor of Provence, who married Henry III of England. Peter, who was descended from the family that held Aigueblanche in Savoy, was possibly Williams treasurer, nothing further is known of his background or education, not even the name of his parents. By 1239 Peter was serving King Henry, as he had received a benefice in Lancashire and he also served as warden of the wardrobe and on 2 August 1240 the king named him archdeacon of Shropshire as well. But on 24 August 1240 he was elected bishop of Hereford, the ceremony was performed by the Archbishop of York, Walter de Gray. He was enthroned shortly after Christmas at Hereford and that fall, Henry had attempted to have him translated, or moved, to the richer bishopric of Durham, but was unable to secure the translation. Peter continued to receive gifts from the king, including market rights, in August, Peter was present at the royal court at Shrewsbury which made peace with the Welsh. In the fall, Henry again attempted to have him translated to another see, by having him moved to London, which was once more unsuccessful. In 1242 he was sent to the continent as a diplomat, in 1243 Peter began acting as the representative for the absent Archbishop of Canterbury-elect, Boniface of Savoy, another of Queen Eleanors uncles. Boniface had been appointed archbishop in 1241, but had not arrived in England or been consecrated. Boniface finally arrived in England in the spring of 1244, and Peter was at Dover to welcome Boniface and deliver Bonifaces pallium, shortly after this, Peter was ordered by the papacy to intervene in Henrys dispute with William of Raleigh, the Bishop of Winchester. The pope sent Peter to the king with an ultimatum threatening an interdict on the chapel if peace was not made between the king and Raleigh. Peter attended the council of the church that was convened by Pope Innocent IV at Lyons in 1245. Then he returned to England where he acted as Bonifaces representative again, during this time he was also busy in his diocese, where he issued regulations for his clergy as well as taking possession of lands that had been granted away by his predecessors. He also performed some other diplomatic missions for the king, probably in early 1250, Peter vowed to go on crusade, and he spent the next years busy on the continent
Peter of Aigueblanche
–
Peter of Aigueblanche
17.
Bishop of Hereford
–
The Bishop of Hereford is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Hereford in the Province of Canterbury. The episcopal see is centred in the City of Hereford where the seat is in the Cathedral Church of Saint Mary. The diocese was founded for the minor sub-kingdom of the Magonsæte in 676 and it now covers the whole of the county of Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes in Worcestershire, Powys and Monmouthshire. The arms of the see are gules, three leopards faces reversed jessant-de-lys or, which were the arms of Bishop Thomas de Cantilupe. Until 1534 the Diocese of Hereford was in communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Since the accession of Elizabeth I the diocese has again been part of the Church of England, richard Friths election was confirmed on 17 October 2014 and he was installed as Bishop of Hereford on 22 November 2014 in Hereford Cathedral. The bishops residence is The Palace, Hereford, note, The chronology prior to 1056 is partly conjectural
Bishop of Hereford
–
Arms of the Bishop of Hereford: Gules, three leopard's faces
jessant-de-lys reversed or. These were the arms of Bishop
Thomas Cantilupe (c.1218-1282)
18.
England
–
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west, the Irish Sea lies northwest of England and the Celtic Sea lies to the southwest. England is separated from continental Europe by the North Sea to the east, the country covers five-eighths of the island of Great Britain in its centre and south, and includes over 100 smaller islands such as the Isles of Scilly, and the Isle of Wight. England became a state in the 10th century, and since the Age of Discovery. The Industrial Revolution began in 18th-century England, transforming its society into the worlds first industrialised nation, Englands terrain mostly comprises low hills and plains, especially in central and southern England. However, there are uplands in the north and in the southwest, the capital is London, which is the largest metropolitan area in both the United Kingdom and the European Union. In 1801, Great Britain was united with the Kingdom of Ireland through another Act of Union to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. In 1922 the Irish Free State seceded from the United Kingdom, leading to the latter being renamed the United Kingdom of Great Britain, the name England is derived from the Old English name Englaland, which means land of the Angles. The Angles were one of the Germanic tribes that settled in Great Britain during the Early Middle Ages, the Angles came from the Angeln peninsula in the Bay of Kiel area of the Baltic Sea. The earliest recorded use of the term, as Engla londe, is in the ninth century translation into Old English of Bedes Ecclesiastical History of the English People. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, its spelling was first used in 1538. The earliest attested reference to the Angles occurs in the 1st-century work by Tacitus, Germania, the etymology of the tribal name itself is disputed by scholars, it has been suggested that it derives from the shape of the Angeln peninsula, an angular shape. An alternative name for England is Albion, the name Albion originally referred to the entire island of Great Britain. The nominally earliest record of the name appears in the Aristotelian Corpus, specifically the 4th century BC De Mundo, in it are two very large islands called Britannia, these are Albion and Ierne. But modern scholarly consensus ascribes De Mundo not to Aristotle but to Pseudo-Aristotle, the word Albion or insula Albionum has two possible origins. Albion is now applied to England in a poetic capacity. Another romantic name for England is Loegria, related to the Welsh word for England, Lloegr, the earliest known evidence of human presence in the area now known as England was that of Homo antecessor, dating to approximately 780,000 years ago. The oldest proto-human bones discovered in England date from 500,000 years ago, Modern humans are known to have inhabited the area during the Upper Paleolithic period, though permanent settlements were only established within the last 6,000 years
England
–
Stonehenge, a
Neolithic monument
England
–
Flag
England
–
Boudica led an uprising against the
Roman Empire
England
–
Replica of a 7th-century ceremonial
helmet from the
Kingdom of East Anglia, found at
Sutton Hoo
19.
Alfortville
–
Alfortville is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 7.6 km from the center of Paris, the commune of Alfortville was created on 1 April 1885 from part of the commune of Maisons-Alfort. Alfortville is served by two stations on Paris RER line D, Maisons-Alfort – Alfortville and Le Vert de Maisons, Alfortville is located at only 500 meters from the metro station Ecole vétérinaire de Maisons Alfort on Paris Métro Line 8 The Armenian community of Alfortville is very significant. There is an Armenian Apostolic Church located south of the city and its an important place for the Armenian community, which is very significant in Alfortville. There is a named after Komitas Vartabed, Missak Manouchian. A roundabout has recently been named Place dAchtarak after the Armenian city Ashtarak, Alfortville is twinning convention with the Armenian cities of Ashtarak, Oshakan. On 3 May 1984, the Armenian Genocide memorial of Alfortville was bombed by a hit-team headed by Grey Wolves member Abdullah Catli and paid by the Turkish MİT intelligence agency
Alfortville
–
Alfortville and Chinagora, with a barge and tugboat on the River Seine
20.
Buffalo Bill
–
William Frederick Buffalo Bill Cody was an American scout, bison hunter, and showman. Buffalo Bill started working at the age of eleven, after his fathers death, during the American Civil War, he served the Union from 1863 to the end of the war in 1865. Later he served as a scout for the US Army during the Indian Wars. One of the most colorful figures of the American Old West, shortly thereafter he started performing in shows that displayed cowboy themes and episodes from the frontier and Indian Wars. He founded Buffalo Bills Wild West in 1883, taking his company on tours in the United States and, beginning in 1887, in Great Britain. Cody was born on February 26,1846, on a farm just outside Le Claire and his father, Isaac Cody, was born on September 5,1811, in Toronto Township, Upper Canada, now part of Mississauga, Ontario, directly west of Toronto. Mary Ann Bonsell Laycock, Bills mother, was born about 1817 in New Jersey and she moved to Cincinnati to teach school, and there she met and married Isaac. She was a descendant of Josiah Bunting, a Quaker who had settled in Pennsylvania, there is no evidence to indicate Buffalo Bill was raised as a Quaker. In 1847 the couple moved to Ontario, having their son baptized in 1847, as William Cody, at the Dixie Union Chapel in Peel County, the chapel was built with Cody money, and the land was donated by Philip Cody of Toronto Township. They lived in Ontario for several years, in 1853, Isaac Cody sold his land in rural Scott County, Iowa, for $2000, and the family moved to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas Territory. In the years before the Civil War, Kansas was overtaken by political and physical conflict over the slavery question and he was invited to speak at Rivelys store, a local trading post where pro-slavery men often held meetings. His antislavery speech so angered the crowd that they threatened to kill him if he didnt step down, a man jumped up and stabbed him twice with a Bowie knife. Rively, the owner, rushed Cody to get treatment. In Kansas, the family was persecuted by pro-slavery supporters. Codys father spent time away from home for his safety and his enemies learned of a planned visit to his family and plotted to kill him on the way. Bill, despite his youth and being ill at the time, Isaac Cody went to Cleveland, Ohio, to organize a group of thirty families to bring back to Kansas, in order to add to the antislavery population. During his return trip he caught an infection which, compounded by the lingering effects of his stabbing and complications from kidney disease. After his death, the family suffered financially, at age 11, Bill took a job with a freight carrier as a boy extra
Buffalo Bill
–
Buffalo Bill
Buffalo Bill
–
William Cody at age 19
Buffalo Bill
–
c. 1875
Buffalo Bill
–
"Buffalo Bill" got nicknamed after his contract to supply
Kansas Pacific Railroad workers with
buffalo meat
21.
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France, also known as European France, is the part of France in Europe. It comprises mainland France and nearby islands in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, Overseas France is the collective name for the part of France outside Europe, French overseas regions, territories, collectivities, and the sui generis collectivity of New Caledonia. Metropolitan France and Overseas France together form the French Republic, Metropolitan France accounts for 82. 2% of the land territory,3. 3% of the exclusive economic zone, and 95. 9% of the population of the French Republic. The five overseas regions—Martinique, Guadeloupe, Réunion, French Guiana, in overseas France, a person from metropolitan France is often called a métro, short for métropolitain. Similar terms existed to describe other European colonial powers and this usage of the words metropolis and metropolitan itself came from Ancient Greek metropolis, which was the name for a city-state from which originated colonies across the Mediterranean. By extension metropolis and metropolitan came to mean motherland, a nation or country as opposed to its colonies overseas, today there are some people in overseas France who object to the use of the term la France métropolitaine due to its colonial origins. They prefer to call it the European territory of France, as the Treaties of the European Union do, likewise, they oppose treating overseas France and metropolitan France as separate entities. As a result, since the end of the 1990s INSEE has included the five departments in its figures for France. Other branches of the French administration may have different definitions of what la France entière is, the World Bank refers to this as France only, and not the whole of France as INSEE does. According to the French government,64,860,000 people lived in metropolitan France as of January 2017, Metropolitan France covers a land area of 551,695 km². At sea, the economic zone of metropolitan France covers 334,604 km², while the EEZ of overseas France covers 9,821,231 km². In the second round of the 2007 French presidential election,37,342,004 French people cast a ballot. 35,907,015 of these cast their ballots in metropolitan France,1,088,679 cast their ballots in overseas France, and 346,310 cast their ballots in foreign countries. The French National Assembly is made up of 577 deputies,539 of whom are elected in metropolitan France,27 in overseas France, and 11 by French citizens living in foreign countries. Mainland France, or just the mainland, does not include the French islands in the Atlantic Ocean, English Channel or Mediterranean Sea, in Corsica, people from the mainland part of Metropolitan France are referred to as les continentaux. A casual synonym for the part of Metropolitan France is lHexagone, for its approximate shape. French colonial empire Mainland Wildlife of Metropolitan France
Metropolitan France
–
Metropolitan France
22.
Overseas France
–
Overseas France consists of all the French-administered territories outside of the European continent. Their citizens have French nationality and vote for the president of France and they have the right to vote in elections to the European Parliament. From a legal and administrative standpoint, overseas regions are different from overseas collectivities. Overseas regions have exactly the same status as mainland Frances regions, in the French overseas regions, laws cannot be adapted whereas the overseas collectivities are empowered to make their own laws, except in certain areas. The overseas collectivities are governed by elected assemblies and by the French Parliament. Overseas France has an economic zone of 9,821,231 km². Guadeloupe French Guiana Martinique Réunion Mayotte 1976–2003, sui generis overseas territory, 2001–2003, with the designation departmental community, 2003–2011, in the 2009 Mahoran status referendum, Mahorans voted to become an overseas department in 2011, which occurred on March 31,2011. The category of overseas collectivity was created by Frances constitutional reform of March 28,2003, each overseas collectivity has its own statutory laws. French Polynesia In 2004 it was given the designation of overseas country, despite being given the political status of overseas collectivity, Saint Pierre et Miquelon is called collectivité territoriale de Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, literally territorial collectivity. It is still referred to as a territoire. Saint Martin, In 2003, the populations of St. Martin, on February 7,2007, the French Parliament passed a bill granting COM status to both jurisdictions. The new status took effect on February 22,2007 when the law was published in the Journal Officiel and they remain part of the European Union, as stated in the Treaty of Lisbon. It is currently the only overseas territory, according to law 2007-224 of February 21,2007, the Scattered Islands in the Indian Ocean constitute the 5th district of TAAF. New Caledonia was classified as an overseas territory beginning in 1946, a New Caledonian citizenship was established, and a gradual transfer of power from the French state to New Caledonia itself was begun, to last from 15 to 20 years. Clipperton Island is a 9 km2 coral atoll located 1,280 km south-west of Acapulco, Mexico and it is held as state private property under the direct authority of the French government, and is administered by Frances Overseas Minister. With 2,691,000 inhabitants in 2013, Overseas France account for 4. 1% of the population of the French Republic and they enjoy a corresponding representation in the two chambers of the French Parliament. In the 13th Legislature, Overseas France is represented by 27 députés in the French National Assembly,2004, Official website Overseas France at DMOZ
Overseas France
–
Gustavia in
Saint Barthélemy
Overseas France
–
Flag
Overseas France
–
A street in
Saint-Pierre, capital of
Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Overseas France
–
Route des Tamarins motorway near
Saint-Paul,
Réunion
23.
EU-15
–
The 1995 enlargement of the European Union saw Austria, Finland and Sweden accede to the European Union. This was the EUs fourth enlargement and came into effect on the 1 January of that year, all these states were previous members of the European Free Trade Association and had traditionally been less interested in joining the EU than other European countries. Norway had negotiated to join alongside the three but following the signing of the treaty, membership was turned down by the Norwegian electorate in the 1994 national referendum. Switzerland also applied for membership on 26 May 1992, but withdrew it after a referendum result on 6 December 1992. After the 1970s Europe experienced a downturn led to leaders launching of the Single European Act which set to create a single market by 1992. The effect of this was that EFTA states found it harder to export to the EEC, EFTA states began to discuss closer links with the EEC despite its domestic unpopularity. Finally, Austria, Finland and Sweden were neutral in the Cold War so membership of an organisation developing a common foreign, as that obstacle was removed, the desire to pursue membership grew stronger. However membership was still unpopular and the then-EEC was also uninterested in another enlargement. The EEC had begun working on the creation of a common currency, commission President Jacques Delors proposed the European Economic Area to give EFTA access to the EUs internal market without full membership. While they would not have a say in the creation of EU law, however businesses did not accept that the EEA members would be equal members of the single market and investment flows did not return to normal. The large manufacturers in Sweden were instrumental in pushing government policy further towards membership rather than remaining with the EEA, the economic pressures overcame long standing opposition from the social democrat governments which saw the EU as too neo-liberal and a danger to Nordic capitalism. Firms were only kept within Sweden by devaluations of the Swedish krona, the EEA was damaged further with the Swiss electorate voted against it. Austria, Finland, Norway and Sweden all applied for membership of the EU. On 30 March 1994, accession negotiations concluded with Austria, Sweden, Finland and their accession treaties were signed on 25 June of that year. Sweden held their elections to the European Parliament for its MEPs later that year on 17 September, the following year, Austria held its elections on 13 October and Finland on 20 October. The impact of the 1995 enlargement was smaller than most as the members were wealthy, as net contributors to the EU budget, they also increased the voice for budgetary reform. Before the 1995 enlargement, the EU had ten treaty languages, Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Greek, Irish, Italian, Portuguese, however, due to the 1995 enlargement, two new official languages were added, Swedish and Finnish. This resulted in the increase in the minority in the Council
EU-15
–
The 1995 enlargement: Austria, Finland and Sweden in yellow.
24.
Pieds-noirs
–
The term usually includes the North African Jews, who had been living there for many centuries but were awarded French citizenship by the 1870 Crémieux Decree. More specifically, the term pied-noir is used for those of European ancestry who returned to mainland France as soon as Algeria gained independence, the term pied-noir began to be commonly used shortly before the end of the Algerian War in 1962. As of the last census in Algeria, taken on 1 June 1960, the conflict contributed to the fall of the French Fourth Republic and the mass exodus of Algerian Europeans and Jews to France. After Algeria became independent in 1962, about 800,000 Pieds-Noirs of French nationality were evacuated to mainland France while about 200,000 chose to remain in Algeria. Of the latter, there were still about 100,000 in 1965, in popular culture, the community is often represented as feeling removed from French culture while longing for Algeria. Thus, the recent history of the Pieds-Noirs has been imprinted with a theme of alienation from both their native homeland and their adopted land. Though the term rapatriés dAlgérie implies that once lived in France. Many families had lived there for generations, and the Algerian Jews, the actual origin of the term pied-noir is unknown and therefore debated. The Le Robert dictionary states that in 1901 the word indicated a sailor working barefoot in the room of a ship. In the Mediterranean, this was often an Algerian native, thus the term was used pejoratively for Algerians until 1955 when it first began referring to French born in Algeria and this usage originated from mainland French as a negative nickname. There is also a theory that the term comes from the boots of French soldiers compared to the barefoot Algerians. Other theories focus on new settlers dirtying their clothing by working in areas, wearing black boots when on horseback. European settlement of Algeria began during the 1830s, after France had commenced the process of conquest with the seizure of the city of Algiers in 1830. The invasion was instigated when the Dey of Algiers struck the French consul with a fly-swatter in 1827, in 1830 the government of Charles X blockaded Algeria and an armada sailed to Algiers, followed by a land expedition. A troop of 34,000 soldiers landed on 18 June 1830, following a three-week campaign, the Hussein Dey capitulated on 5 July 1830, and was exiled. In the 1830s the French controlled only the part of the country. Entering the Oran region, they faced resistance from Emir Abd al-Kader, in 1839 Abd al-Kader began a seven-year war by declaring jihad against the French. The French signed two treaties with al-Kader, but they were broken because of a miscommunication between the military and the Parisian government
Pieds-noirs
–
Notre Dame d'Afrique, a church built by the French Pieds-Noirs in Algeria
Pieds-noirs
–
Bombardment of Algeria by
Admiral Duperré's forces in 1830
Pieds-noirs
–
Four children in a wagon pulled by two
donkeys, circa 1905. The first Pieds-Noirs were the
French Army of Africa personnel's children.
Pieds-noirs
–
Map of
French Algeria
25.
Northwest Africa
–
The Maghreb, or the Greater Maghreb, is usually defined as much or most of the region of western North Africa or Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. Historical terms for the region or various portions of the Maghreb include Mauretania, Numidia, Libya, the term maghrib is Arabic for west, from the verb gharaba. In the strict sense, the definite form al-maghrib denotes the country of Morocco in particular and it identified the westernmost territories that fell to the Islamic conquests of the 7th century. Today, it is a noun for the present region of the Maghreb. The Berber languages alternative term for the region, Tamazgha, has been popularized by Berber activists since the second half of the 20th century. As recently as the late 19th century it was used to refer to the Western Mediterranean region of coastal North Africa in general, and to Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia in particular. The region was unified as an independent political entity during the rule of the Berber kingdom of Numidia. The most enduring rule was that of the local Berber empires of the Almoravids, Almohads, Hammadids, Zirids, Marinids, Saadi, the Ottoman Turks ruled the region as well. Mauritania, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, and Libya established the Maghreb Union in 1989 to promote cooperation and it was envisioned initially by Muammar Gaddafi as a superstate. The union included Western Sahara implicitly under Moroccos membership, putting Moroccos long cold war with Algeria to a rest, however, this progress was short-lived, and the union is now frozen. Tensions between Algeria and Morocco over Western Sahara re-emerged strongly, reinforced by the unsolved borderline issue between the two countries and these two main conflicts have hindered progress on the unions joint goals and practically made it inactive as a whole. Around 3,500 BC a tilt in the Earths orbit created a rapid desertification of the Sahara, the Maghreb or western North Africa is believed to have been inhabited by Berbers since from at least 10,000 BC. Maghreb coast ports were predominantly occupied or constructed by the Phoenicians, the main Phoenician settlements centered in the Gulf of Tunis along the North African littoral between the Pillars of Hercules and the Libyan coast east of ancient Cyrenaica. They dominated the trade and intercourse of the Western Mediterranean for centuries, Rome was greatly helped by the defection of King Massinissa and Carthaginians eastern Numidian Massylii client-allies. A century later, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I sent a force under General Belisarius that succeeded in destroying the Vandal kingdom, the Berbers contested outside-the-area control although after the 640s-700 AD period the Arabs controlled the entire region. The Arabs reached the Maghreb in early Umayyad times, Arab expansion and the spread of Islam pushed the development of trans-Saharan trade. While restricted due to the cost and dangers, the trade was highly profitable, commodities traded included such goods as salt, gold, ivory, and slaves. Arab control over the Maghreb was quite weak, various Islamic variations, such as the Ibadis and the Shia, were adopted by some Berbers, often leading to scorning of Caliphal control in favour of their own interpretation of Islam
Northwest Africa
–
Magreb head ornament (Morocco)
Northwest Africa
–
The
Arab Maghreb Union countries
Northwest Africa
–
The
Great Mosque of Kairouan, founded by the Arab general Uqba Ibn Nafi (in 670), is the oldest mosque in the Maghreb city of
Kairouan,
Tunisia.
Northwest Africa
–
1707 map of northwest Africa by
Guillaume Delisle, including the Maghreb
26.
Tariq Abdul-Wahad
–
Tariq Abdul-Wahad is a French basketball coach and former player. Abdul-Wahad is the current head coach of varsity basketball at Lincoln High School of San Jose. As Olivier Saint-Jean, he played basketball at Michigan and San Jose State. In 1997, the Sacramento Kings selected Saint-Jean in the first round of the NBA draft as the 11th overall pick, from 1997 to 2003, Abdul-Wahad played in the NBA for the Kings, Orlando Magic, Denver Nuggets, and Dallas Mavericks. He was the first player to be raised in France and play in the NBA, Olivier Saint-Jean was born in Maisons-Alfort near Paris from parents who were natives of French Guiana. His mother George Goudet was a basketball player. After graduating from Lycee Aristide Briand in 1993, Abdul-Wahad first played basketball for two years at Michigan and transferred to San Jose State in 1995. Abdul-Wahad was part of the San Jose State team that won the 1996 Big West Conference Mens Basketball Tournament and he changed his name to Tariq Abdul-Wahad after converting to Islam in 1997. He was known as a defensive specialist, but his time was restricted in later seasons due to injuries. He only played in 236 out of a possible 788 games, in the whole 2003–04 and 2004–05 seasons Abdul-Wahad was on the Dallas Mavericks roster on injured reserve, as he was permanently unable to play. He was released by Mavericks on 28 September 2005, during training camp prior to the 2005–06 season, in November 2006 Italian team Climamio Bologna invited Abdul-Wahad to a try out, but he was not signed. His No.3 jersey was retired by San Jose State in 2002, however the banner hanging in the Event Center Arena refers to him as Olivier Saint-Jean, the name he used while in college. Abdul-Wahads peak year as a pro was with the Sacramento Kings in the lockout-shortened 1999 NBA season and they pushed the Utah Jazz to the brink of elimination but lost in the fifth and final game of the series. In 2005, Abdul-Wahad played the part of King Negus of Abyssinia in the video play Mercy to Mankind, Part 1, The Prophecy Fulfilled, sponsored by the MAS Youth Chapter, Dallas, Texas. Abdul-Wahad finished his B. A. in art history at San Jose State University in 2008 and he later started a clothing business in Brazil with a friend and a television production company in France. On July 21,2011, the Division II Cal State Monterey Bay Otters womens basketball team hired Abdul-Wahad as an assistant coach, Abdul-Wahad became head varsity boys basketball coach at Lincoln High School of San Jose, California in 2012. NBA bio Complete stats @ basketball-reference. com
Tariq Abdul-Wahad
–
Tariq Abdul-Wahad
27.
Moers
–
Moers is a German city on the western bank of the Rhine. Moers belongs to the district of Wesel, known earliest from 1186, the county of Moers was an independent principality within the Holy Roman Empire. During the Eighty Years War it was captured by Spanish and Dutch troops. During the war it fell to Maurice of Orange. As it was separated from the Dutch Republic by Spanish Upper Guelders it did not become an part of the Republic. After the death of William III of Orange in 1702, Moers was inherited by the king of Prussia, all Dutch troops and civil servants were expelled. In 1795 it was annexed by France, at the Congress of Vienna, in 1815 it was returned to Prussia and in 1871 it became part of the German Empire. A target of the Oil Campaign of World War II, the Steinkohlenbergwerke Rheinpreussen synthetic oil plant in Moers, was partially dismantled post-war, richard Glum 1917-1937, Dr. Fritz Eckert 1937-1941, Fritz Grüttgen 1943-1945, Peter Linden 1945-1946, Dr. Personal guide to the city of Moers Official website
Moers
–
Moers Castle (2014)
Moers
–
The illuminated, 30 meters high mining lamp memorial by
Otto Piene on the spoil tip
Halde Rheinpreußen in the north of Moers during the
blue hour
Moers
–
The County of Moers in 1635
Moers
–
Moers, churchtower (die evangelische Stadtkirche) in the street
28.
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
North Rhine-Westphalia is the most populous state of Germany, with a population of approximately 18 million, and the fourth largest by area. Its capital is Düsseldorf, the most populous city is Cologne, four of Germanys ten largest cities—Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, and Essen—are located within the state, as well as the largest metropolitan area on the European continent, Rhine-Ruhr. North Rhine-Westphalia was formed in 1946 as a merger of the provinces of North Rhine and Westphalia, the state has been run by a coalition of the Social Democrats and Greens since 2010. The Ubii and some other Germanic tribes such as the Cugerni were later settled on the west side of the Rhine in the Roman province of Germania Inferior, North of the Sigambri and the Rhine region were the Bructeri. By the 8th century the Frankish dominion was established in western Germany. But at the time, to the north, Westphalia was being taken over by Saxons pushing south. The Merovingian and Carolingian Franks eventually built an empire which controlled first their Ripuarian kin, the Ottonian dynasty had both Saxon and Frankish ancestry. As the central power of the Holy Roman Emperor weakened, the Rhineland split into small independent principalities, each with its separate vicissitudes. Such struggles as the War of the Limburg Succession therefore continued to create military, Aachen was the place of coronation of the German emperors, and the ecclesiastical principalities of the Rhine bulked largely in German history. Prussia first set foot on the Rhine in 1609 by the occupation of the Duchy of Cleves and about a century later Upper Guelders and Moers also became Prussian. At the peace of Basel in 1795 the whole of the bank of the Rhine was resigned to France. In 1920, the districts of Eupen and Malmedy were transferred to Belgium, around 1 AD there were numerous incursions through Westphalia and perhaps even some permanent Roman or Romanized settlements. The Battle of Teutoburg Forest took place near Osnabrück and some of the Germanic tribes who fought at this came from the area of Westphalia. Charlemagne is thought to have spent considerable time in Paderborn and nearby parts and his Saxon Wars also partly took place in what is thought of as Westphalia today. Popular legends link his adversary Widukind to places near Detmold, Bielefeld, Lemgo, Osnabrück, Widukind was buried in Enger, which is also a subject of a legend. Along with Eastphalia and Engern, Westphalia was originally a district of the Duchy of Saxony, in 1180 Westphalia was elevated to the rank of a duchy by Emperor Barbarossa. The Duchy of Westphalia comprised only an area south of the Lippe River. Parts of Westphalia came under Brandenburg-Prussian control during the 17th and 18th centuries, the Peace of Westphalia of 1648, signed in Münster and Osnabrück, ended the Thirty Years War
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Map of the
Lower Rhenish–Westphalian Circle in 1799 by
John Cary
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Flag
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Ratification of the
Peace of Westphalia of 1648 in
Münster by Gerard Terborch
North Rhine-Westphalia
–
Rhine near
Bonn
29.
RER D
–
The RER D is one of five RER rapid transit system lines serving Paris, France. It connects Orry-la-Ville and Creil in the north to Melun, Corbeil-Essonnes and Malesherbes in the south, passing through the heart of Paris. Opened in stages from 1987 to 1996, it is the longest RER line by distance, due to a high rate of incidents and social issues, the line is sometimes colloquially known as the RER poubelle. Line D also links Gare du Nord with Gare de Lyon via Châtelet – Les-Halles, operated Villiers-le-Bel – Gare du Nord – Châtelet-Les Halles,19 km, using the Line B Tunnel to Châtelet – Les Halles 1988, Extension north towards Goussainville. September 1990, Extension north towards Orry-la-Ville, September 1995, Inauguration of Interconnexion Sud-Est. The line is extended from Châtelet to Melun and La Ferté-Alais then Malesherbes in the south of Paris,25 January 1998, New station, Stade de France – Saint-Denis, opened. Located between Gare du Nord and St-Denis,29 January 2007, First renovated Z20500 stock in service. 19 March 2008, Start of the D Maintenant programme by Guillaume Pepy,14 December 2008, Reduced Interconnexion Nord-Sud service, with 8 interconnected trains per hour. Late 2009, End of the D Maintenant programme,7 December 2011, Start of studies for the doubling of the Châtelet-Gare du Nord tunnel. 15 December 2013, New station, Créteil-Pompadour, opened, the operation of renovating les Halles gave the occasion to build Châtelet-Les Halles with a cut-and-cover method, in order to reduce costs. Initially, the new RER D was meant to share with the RER A between Paris-Gare de Lyon and Châtelet-Les Halles. But, RATP, the company who runs the RER A, objected to such an operation as the number of passengers using the RER A was growing and required running extra trains on the RER A. The RER D tracks at Paris-Gare de Lyon have four tracks and being above the RER A tracks, allowed platform to platform transfers vertically, a Japanese invention. On 27 September 1987, the RER D was officially created, by extending existing suburban trains from Villiers-le-Bel to Gare du Nord, initially 19 km long, it was equipped with bi-current Z8800 stock trains, while newer Z20500 stock trains were still being built. At Châtelet-Les Halles station, the RER D terminated on the three tracks, already built from the conception of Châtelet-Les Halles station. In 1988, existing suburban trains terminating at Goussainville now integrate with the RER D, on the same year, the first bi-mode Z20500 trains are in service. They were initially composed of 4 cars until the north-south interconnection was inaugurated in 1995, in September 1990, the RER D again extended north to Orry-la-Ville. In 1996, the RER D was extended south from La Ferté-Alais to Malesherbes, on 15 January 1998 for the 1998 FIFA World Cup, St-Denis – Stade de France station opened, in order to serve the Stade de France
RER D
–
Gare de Lyon underground station on June 2008.
RER D
–
Villeneuve - Triage station, on June 2007. On the left, track 2M towards Paris, on the right track 1B towards Villeneuve-Saint-Georges, and next to it, track 2B towards Paris.
RER D
–
A
Z 20500 train at Corbeil-Essonnes station, in April 2007.
RER D
–
Protesters at
Yerres on October 17th, 2009
30.
Paris Metropolitan Area
–
The Paris metropolitan area is a statistical area that describes the reach of commuter movement to and from Paris and its surrounding suburbs. From 2011, the INSEE classified its largest aires urbaines into aires métropolitaines and grandes aires urbaines, from then, Paris became Frances largest metropolitan area. This latter initiative created the Métropole du Grand Paris, a Paris-centred intercommunal cooperation effort enacted from January 1st,2016. The area had a population of 12,405,426 as of the January 2013 census, nearly 19% of Frances population resides in the region. The Paris metropolitan area expands at each population census due to the population growth in the Paris area. New communes surrounding Paris are included when they meet the 40% commuter threshold required, by the 1999 census the Paris metropolitan area was slightly larger than Île-de-France and had 11,174,743 inhabitants in 14,518 km². By the 2012 census it had reached 12,341,418 inhabitants in 17,174 km², the table below shows the population growth of the Paris urban area, i. e. Paris and the densely built municipalities surrounding it. The table below shows the growth of the Paris metropolitan area, i. e. the urban area. Grand Paris Metropolitan Areas of France Île-de-France Document about the functioning of Paris Metropolitan Area Document about the extension of Paris Metropolitan Area
Paris Metropolitan Area
–
False-color satellite image of the Parisian metropolitan area.
Paris Metropolitan Area
–
Map showing the extent of the Paris metropolitan area at the 1999 census, when it included 1,584
communes and covered 14,518 km². Since then, the Paris metropolitan area has absorbed 214 further communes (not shown on the map), so that by the 2010 census it included 1,798 communes and covered 17,174 km².
31.
Argenteuil
–
Argenteuil is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.3 km from the center of Paris, Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-dOise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil was founded as a convent in the 7th century, the monastery that arose from the convent was destroyed during the French Revolution. A rural escape for Parisians, it is now a suburb of Paris, painters made Argenteuil famous, including Claude Monet, Jean-Étienne Delacroix, Auguste Renoir, Gustave Caillebotte, Alfred Sisley and Georges Braque. As of 2016 the communes schools have over 12,000 students, the Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Musique, Danse et Théâtre is located in Argenteuil. André Bon is one of its former students
Argenteuil
–
The Pont d'Argenteuil over the
River Seine
Argenteuil
–
Claude Monet -
Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil 1875
Argenteuil
–
In this painting from 1872, Monet was interested in studying how unblended dabs of color could suggest the effect of brilliant sunlight filtered through leaves The
Walters Art Museum.
Argenteuil
–
Claude Monet - The Seine at Argenteuil, 1874
32.
Boulogne-Billancourt
–
Boulogne-Billancourt is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.2 km from the centre of Paris, Boulogne-Billancourt is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt. With an average income in 2013 of €47,592, nearly twice the French average of €25,548. Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous suburb of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe, formerly an important industrial site, it has successfully reconverted into business services and is now home to major communication companies headquartered in the Val de Seine business district. The original name of the commune was Boulogne-sur-Seine, before the 14th century, Boulogne was a small village called Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud. The church, meant to become a pilgrimage centre closer to Paris than the distant city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was named Notre-Dame de Boulogne la Petite, gradually, the village of Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud became known as Boulogne-la-Petite, and later as Boulogne-sur-Seine. In 1924, Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt to reflect the development of the neighbourhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860. As for the name Billancourt, it was recorded for the first time in 1150 as Bullencort and it comes from Medieval Latin cortem, accusative of cors, meaning enclosure, estate, suffixed to the Germanic patronym Buolo, thus having the meaning of estate of Buolo. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes, on that occasion, the communes of Auteuil and Passy were disbanded and divided between Boulogne-Billancourt and the city of Paris. Boulogne-sur-Seine received a part of the territory of Passy. Some of the events of the 1900 Summer Olympics took place in Boulogne-Billancourt. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was divided between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. On that occasion, Boulogne-Billancourt, to which most of the Bois de Boulogne belonged, Boulogne-Billancourt is famous for being the birthplace of three major French industries, cinema, automobile with Renault at Île Seguin, and aircraft. It is also famous for being the setting of the TV show Code Lyoko, with the city of Sèvres, Boulogne-Billancourt is part of the communauté dagglomération Val de Seine. Boulogne-Billancourt is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 10, Boulogne – Jean Jaurès and Boulogne – Pont de Saint-Cloud and it is also served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9, Marcel Sembat, Billancourt, and Pont de Sèvres. The Musée Albert-Kahn at 14, rue du Port, Boulogne-Billancourt is a museum and includes four hectares of gardens. The museum also includes photographs and film. The Musée des Années Trente is a museum of artistic and industrial objects from the 1930s, see also, Enseignement à Boulogne-Billancourt The public collèges in the commune include Jacqueline-Auriol, Bartholdi, Paul-Landowski, and Jean-Renoir
Boulogne-Billancourt
–
The church of Our Lady of Boulogne-Billancourt
33.
Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Montreuil is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.6 km from the center of Paris and it is the fourth most populous suburb of Paris. Montreuil is located near the Bois de Vincennes park, the name Montreuil was recorded for the first time in a royal edict of 722 as Monasteriolum, meaning little monastery in Medieval Latin. The settlement of Montreuil started as a group of houses built around a small monastery, under the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI the Peach Walls which provided the royal court with the fruits were located in Montreuil. It was also home to the Lumière brothers and George Méliès whose workshops were located in lower Montreuil. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes, on that occasion, the commune of Charonne was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Montreuil, and Bagnolet. Montreuil received a part of the territory of Charonne. Today Montreuil is divided into districts, Le bas Montreuil (which joins together the old workshops. Decorations in the state school Voltaire by Maurice Boitel, montreuils inhabitants often exaggeratedly nickname the town the second Malian town after Bamako, or sometimes Mali-sous-Bois or Bamako-sur-Seine even if the Seine doesnt cross the town. 10% of the population is Malian or has Malian origins, the city is divided into two cantons, canton of Montreuil-1 and canton of Montreuil-2. Video game company Ubisoft has its head office in Montreuil. The Air France Paris office is in Montreuil, the communes educational services are operated out of the Opale B Administrative Building. Montreuil has eight collèges, three lycées, two techniques, and the IUT of the University of Paris 8. Robert-Desnos, in a park near the town hall, is the largest library in the commune. It houses a disco and Internet access points, daniel-Renoult, near Montreau Park, serves the Montreau-Ruffins Théophile Sueur community. Colonel-Fabien, in the Ramenas-Fabien-Léo Lagrange community, is near the Intercommunal Hospital, paul-Eluard is near the La Grande Porte shopping centre and is within 50 metres of the Robespierre Paris Métro station and Rue de Paris. Montreuil is twinned with, Bistriţa in Romania Cottbus in Germany Hornec gang Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer Birthplace of this sculptor Pierre de Montreuil INSEE Official website
Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Skyline of Montreuil
Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Streets in Montreuil
34.
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.4 km from the centre of Paris, Saint-Denis is a subprefecture of the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. Saint-Denis is home to the necropolis of the Basilica of Saint Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey. It is also home to Frances national football and rugby stadium, Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called Dionysiens, until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum, probably meaning estate of Catullius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill, shortly after 250 his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of the Abbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis. In 1793, during the French Revolution, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion, in 1803, however, under the Consulate of Napoléon Bonaparte, the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis. During its history, Saint-Denis has been associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I, almost every French king was buried in the Basilica, however, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today, Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis tomb quickly became a place of worship, around 475, Sainte Geneviève had a small chapel erected on Denis tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery, during the Middle Ages, because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all over Europe came to visit its market, in 1140, Abbot Suger, counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging the Basilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, the new church was consecrated in 1144. Saint-Denis suffered heavily in the Hundred Years War, of its 10,000 citizens, during the French Wars of Religion, the Battle of Saint-Denis was fought between Catholics and Protestants on 10 November 1567. The Protestants were defeated, but the Catholic commander Anne de Montmorency was killed, in 1590, the city surrendered to Henry IV, who converted to Catholicism in 1593 in the abbey of Saint-Denis. King Louis XIV started several industries in Saint-Denis, weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor, Louis XV, whose daughter was a nun in the Carmelite convent, took a lively interest in the city, he added a chapel to the convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
The
Canal Saint-Denis with swing bridge, pedestrian overpass leading to the
Stade de France and the
Basilique Saint-Denis in the background.
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Battle of Saint-Denis (1567)
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Saint-Denis 1830
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Maison d'éducation de la Légion d'honneur de Saint-Denis.
35.
Aubervilliers
–
Aubervilliers is a French commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Albertivillariens or Albertivillariennes, Aubervilliers is one of three communes in the Plaine Saint-Denis,7.2 km north-east of the centre of Paris. The Canal Saint-Denis traverses the commune on the side from north to south. The Paris ring road is just outside the border of the commune. These roads provide access to the network of roads and motorways around Paris as well as Le Bourget. The Canal Saint-Denis once had important river ports and there was the Paris-Hirson railway, the RER railway passes through the north of the commune and the station of Corneuve-Aubervilliers, located just north of the commune on the N301 road, serves Aubervilliers. Ligne 3b of the Île-de-France tramway since 15 December 2012 with the opening of the Porte dAubervilliers located in the Paris area near the commune, the town is mentioned in the Latinised form Albertivillare in 1059. It is from this that the inhabitants are known as Albertivillarien, the place name of -villiers is a characteristic appellative for agricultural domains in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. The first part is the Germanic personal name Adalbertus from which are derived the names Albert and Aubert and it is homonymous with a hamlet in Seine-et-Marne, Aubervilliers, and Auberville in Normandy. As with many communes in the suburbs the town had long been a rural area. Formerly known as Notre-Dame-des-Vertus, the village was on a plain which produced the best vegetables around Paris, Aubervilliers first appears in the archives in 1059 as Albertivillare, meaning estate of Adalbert. In the following year Henry I donated it to the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, in 1111 the serfs were freed in Aubervilliers. In 1182 the priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, located in Paris, granted Paris butchers the right to graze their cattle in the fields after the harvest was over. In 1221, Guillaume Bateste, lord of Franconville, became the first Lord of Vivier les Aubervilliers. The church, which at the beginning of the 13th century depended on one of the parishes of Saint Denis, in 1338 King Philip VI of France and his queen went to Aubervilliers to visit the image. From 1340 to 1792 people went there in each year from Paris. In 1402 Michel de Laillier, Lord of Ermenonville, became Lord of Vivier les Aubervilliers, in 1429 the town was occupied by the English but was retaken by Michel de Laillier in 1436. Louis XI went there in November 1474 to the house of Pierre L’Orfèvre, the image of the Virgin in lead that the king wore on his hat was a representation of the one at Aubervilliers
Aubervilliers
–
The square was once served by numerous
tramways. The AR line (Aubervilliers -
République), the Compagnie des tramways de Paris et du département de la Seine (TPDS) line and many others once terminated here...
Aubervilliers
Aubervilliers
–
...as well as an electric Imperial tram from TPDS which circulated on the
Place de la République -
Gare de l'Est - Parisian cemetery - Quatre Chemins - Aubervilliers line.
Aubervilliers
–
The Canal Saint-Denis at Aubervilliers
36.
Aulnay-sous-Bois
–
Aulnay-sous-Bois is a French commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 13.9 km from the Kilometre zero, the inhabitants of the commune are known as Aulnaysiens or Aulnaysiennes. The commune has been awarded four flowers by the National Council of Towns, Aulnay-sous-Bois is located in the Paris area and is 19 km north-east of Notre-Dame Cathedral,1 km east of Le Bourget Airport, and 5 km south-west of Charles de Gaulle Airport. The commune stretches over a length of 6.5 km from north to south, the town is surrounded by the A3 autoroute in the west which joins the A1 autoroute in the north. Route nationale 2 passes through the heart of the commune from west to east with the N370 coming from the south-east along the border to join the N2. The D44 passes through from north-west to south-east and the D115 from Bobigny in the south-west passes through the centre, the Ourcq Canal passes through the south-eastern end, adjacent to Livry-Gargan. It includes La Roseraie, Maximilien Robespierre, Le Vieux Pays, Tour Eiffel, the south, across the railway line, is wealthier and residential in nature. It consists of districts and is bordered by the Canal de lOurcq. It includes Chanteloup, Central Station, Pont de lUnion, when the construction of Clos Saint-Lazare at Stains ended, urbanization of the northern districts of Aulnay-sous-Bois began. The idea was to create an area of factories and it was on this basis that the area of Rose des Vents was built in 1969 in the northern part of Aulnay-sous-Bois. This Great Housing Estate was built on agricultural land. Its mission was to shelter for workers and managers for a new Citroën plant to be located a few hundred metres away. Beyond the Rose des Vents, which is known as the City of 3000. 24,000 people, or 30% of the population of Aulnay-sous-Bois, are housed on 4% of the territory, the station has a park and ride with a parking fee. Two branches are planned, the first to Clichy-sous-Bois and Montfermeil on the Gargan heights, the second towards Garonor through Rose-des-Vents and its platforms will be at a depth of 15 metres. In addition, it is planned to create a circular line to connect different parts of the city to avoid reloading for trips between all economic areas of the city and its public facilities. There is a rank at Aulnay-sous-Bois station. Aulnay-sous-Bois is located 5 km from Charles de Gaulle Airport, the airport can be reached by or by the A1 and A3 autoroutes
Aulnay-sous-Bois
–
Residential area as seen from the town hall's bell tower
Aulnay-sous-Bois
–
Aulnay once had a stream: the Morée. It has long been piped into a departmental sewer
Aulnay-sous-Bois
–
Panorama of Aulnay-sous-Bois
Aulnay-sous-Bois
–
The SNCF Railway Station
37.
Champigny-sur-Marne
–
Champigny-sur-Marne is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.5 km from the centre of Paris, Champigny-sur-Marne was originally called simply Champigny. The name Champigny ultimately comes from Medieval Latin Campaniacum, meaning estate of Campanius, in 1897 the name of the commune officially became Champigny-sur-Marne, in order to distinguish it from other communes of France also called Champigny. Champigny-sur-Marne is served by Les Boullereaux – Champigny station on Paris RER line E. Champigny-sur-Marne is also served by Champigny station on Paris RER line A. The Paris Métro will soon serve the center of Champigny, the new station will be located along RN4, jeff Reine-Adélaïde is a professional footballer for Arsenal FC. B. racing cars of Champigny/Marne
Champigny-sur-Marne
–
City hall, Champigny-sur-Marne
38.
Colombes
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Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.6 km from the centre of Paris, the name Colombes comes from Latin columna, meaning column. On 13 March 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached, on 2 May 1910, 19% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of La Garenne-Colombes. Thus, the commune of Colombes is now only two-thirds the size of its territory before 1896, the commune has 21 preschools and 19 elementary schools. Pierpoljak, reggae singer The stadium was built in 1907, officially named the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, the Olympic Stadium of Colombes was the site of the opening ceremony and several events of the 1924 Summer Olympics. The arenas capacity was increased to 60,000 for the 1938 World Cup, the stadium lost its importance after the restoration in 1972 of Paris 49, 000-seat Parc des Princes. In the 1990s, three of the four grandstands were torn down due to decay and the capacity was down to 7,000. It is home to the Racing 92 rugby club, currently playing in Frances Top 14, and to RCF Paris football club, both clubs play in the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir. However, Racing 92 currently plans to leave Colombes in 2017, frankenthal Legnano Communes of the Hauts-de-Seine department INSEE Official website Colombes in postal card History of the Olympic Stadium Article, Chariots of Fire stadium reprieved
Colombes
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The town hall of Colombes
39.
Courbevoie
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Courbevoie is a commune located 8.2 km from the center of Paris, France. The centre of Courbevoie is situated 2 kilometres from the limits of central Paris. La Défense, Pariss business district hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan area, Courbevoie is divided into two cantons, Canton of Courbevoie-1 and Canton of Courbevoie-2. Courbevoie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line, Courbevoie and Bécon-les-Bruyères, Courbevoie is also served by Esplanade de La Défense station on Paris Métro Line 1, in the business district of La Défense. There are also a number of city buses that come through the bustling La Défense station. When it comes to air transportation, Courbevoie can be served by Pariss Charles de Gaulle Airport as well as Paris-Orly to the south, Courbevoie has multiple preschools and elementary schools. A. has its head office in the Tour Total in La Défense and in Courbevoie. Areva has its office in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie. Saint-Gobain also has its office in Courbevoie
Courbevoie
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Night view of
La Défense in the south of Courbevoie
Courbevoie
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Street at the border between Courbevoie and
Asnières
Courbevoie
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Bridge of Courbevoie,
Georges Seurat, 1886–1887
40.
Nanterre
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Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 11.1 km north-west of the centre of Paris, Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre. The city of Nanterre also includes the Paris West University Nanterre La Défense, the name of Nanterre originated before the Roman conquest of Gaul. The Romans recorded the name as Nemetodorum and it is composed of the Celtic word nemeto meaning shrine or sacred place and the Celtic word duron hard, tough, enduring. The sacred place referred to is supposed to have been a shrine that existed in antiquity. Inhabitants of Nanterre are called Nanterriennes and Nanterriens, the sacred shrine of antiquity that is referred to etymologically had been placed by tradition in Mont-Valérien. Lutetia is mentioned by Julius Caesar in 50 BCE, reporting an assembly in Lutetia in 53 BC between himself, commander of the Roman Legions, and local Gallic leaders. Although this had been thought to possibly be Île de la Cité, largely since Caesar mentions an island, in 52 BC, the Parisii took up arms with the Gallic war leader Vercingetorix, and were defeated by Titus Labienus, one of Caesars legates. Caesar mentions in his Commentarii that the Parisii destroyed the bridges, the archeological work in Nanterre has suggested over 15 hectares of pre-Roman or Roman era construction. These archeologic findings may be an indication that Nanterre was the closest pre-Roman settlement to the Citys modern centre, sainte Genevieve, patron saint of Paris, was born in Nanterre ca. On 27 March 2002, Richard Durn, a local activist, shot. Nanterre is divided into three cantons, Nanterre-Nord canton has a population of 33,173, nanterre-Sud-Est canton has a population of 22,350. Nanterre-Sud-Ouest canton has a population of 28,758, Nanterre is served by three stations on RER line A, Nanterre – Préfecture, Nanterre – Université, and Nanterre – Ville. Nanterre – Université station is also a station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. Société Générale has its headquarters in the Tours Société Générale in La Défense, the company moved into the building in 1995. Faurecia, the sixth-largest automotive parts supplier, has its headquarters in Nanterre, groupe du Louvre and subsidiary Louvre Hôtels have their head office in Village 5 in La Défense and Nanterre. The rugby union club Racing 92, currently based in another Paris suburb, the venue, scheduled to open in September 2017, is tentatively known as U Arena. It will have a capacity of 32,000 for rugby and 40,000 for concerts, Nanterre is twinned with, La Défense business district
Nanterre
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La Défense
Nanterre
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Nanterre's twin towns sign.
41.
Rueil-Malmaison
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Rueil-Malmaison is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of France. It is located 12.6 kilometres from the centre of Paris and it is one of the wealthiest suburbs of Paris. Rueil-Malmaison was originally called simply Rueil, in medieval times the name Rueil was spelled either Roialum, Riogilum, Rotoialum, Ruolium, or Ruellium. This name is made of the Celtic word ialo suffixed to a radical meaning brook, stream, in 1928, the name of the commune officially became Rueil-Malmaison in reference to its most famous tourist attraction, the Château de Malmaison, home of Napoléons first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais. The name Malmaison comes from Medieval Latin mala mansio, meaning ill-fated domain, in the Early Middle Ages Malmaison was the site of a royal residence which was destroyed by the Vikings in 846. Rueil is famous for the Château de Malmaison where Napoleon and his first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais lived, upon her death in 1814, she was buried at the nearby Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church, which stands at the centre of the city. The Rueil barracks of the Swiss Guard were constructed in 1756 under Louis XV by the architect Axel Guillaumot, the Guard was formed by Louis XIII in 1616 and massacred at the Tuileries on 10 August 1792 during the French Revolution. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Rueil was located on the front line, at the end of the 19th century, Impressionist painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Édouard Manet and Claude Monet came to paint the Seine River which crosses the town. Rueil is the location of the novel Loin de Rueil by the French novelist Raymond Queneau. The town is twinned with Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in the United Kingdom, the Château de Malmaison, the residence of Napoléons first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais, is located in Rueil-Malmaison. It is home to a Napoleonic museum, the main campus of the French Institute of Petroleum research organisation is in Rueil. The city has become home to many large companies moving out of La Défense business district, located only 5 km from Rueil. There are about 850 service sector companies located in Rueil,70 of which more than 100 people. A business district called Rueil-sur-Seine was created near the RER A Rueil-Malmaison station to accommodate these companies, the business district is equipped with a fiber-optic network. Several major French companies have their headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison, such as Schneider Electric. Schneider had its office in Rueil-Malmaison since 2000, previously the building Schneider occupies housed the Schneider subsidiary Télémécanique. Several large international companies have located their French headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison, such as ExxonMobil, AstraZeneca, American Express. Rueil-Malmaison is served by Rueil-Malmaison station on Paris RER line A. Jean-Marie Le Pen and his wife, Jany Le Pen, live in a two-story house on the rue Hortense
Rueil-Malmaison
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Vue on the Place de l'Église
Rueil-Malmaison
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Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church
Rueil-Malmaison
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The
Château de Malmaison, recto, verso
Rueil-Malmaison
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Bedroom of
Joséphine de Beauharnais and
Napoléon
42.
Versailles, Yvelines
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According to the 2008 census, the population of the city is 88,641 inhabitants, down from a peak of 94,145 in 1975. A new town, founded by the will of King Louis XIV, it was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789, before becoming the cradle of the French Revolution. After having lost its status of city, it became the préfecture of Seine-et-Oise département in 1790, then of Yvelines in 1968. Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the Treaty of Paris, which ended the American Revolutionary War and this word formation is similar to Latin seminare which gave French semailles. From May 1682, when Louis XIV moved the court and government permanently to Versailles, until his death in September 1715, during the various periods when government affairs were conducted from Versailles, Paris remained the official capital of France. Versailles was made the préfecture of the Seine-et-Oise département at its inception in March 1790, Versailles was made the préfecture of the Yvelines département, the largest chunk of the former Seine-et-Oise. At the 2006 census the Yvelines had 1,395,804 inhabitants, Versailles is the seat of a Roman Catholic diocese which was created in 1790. The diocese of Versailles is subordinate to the archdiocese of Paris, in 1975, Versailles was made the seat of a Court of Appeal whose jurisdiction covers the western suburbs of Paris. Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of Frances 30 nationwide académies of the Ministry of National Education. Versailles is also an important node for the French army, a tradition going back to the monarchy with, for instance, the palace of Versailles is in the out-skirts of the city. Versailles is located 17.1 km west-southwest from the centre of Paris, the city of Versailles has an area of 26.18 km2, which is a quarter of the area of the city of Paris. In 1989, Versailles had a density of 3, 344/km2, whereas Paris had a density of 20. Born out of the will of a king, the city has a rational and symmetrical grid of streets, by the standards of the 18th century, Versailles was a very modern European city. Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington, the name of Versailles appears for the first time in a medieval document dated 1038. In the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle, the 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years War, and with it death and destruction. At the end of the Hundred Years War in the 15th century, in 1561, Martial de Loménie, secretary of state for finances under King Charles IX, became lord of Versailles. He obtained permission to four annual fairs and a weekly market on Thursdays. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants, Martial de Loménie was murdered during the St. Bartholomews Day massacre
Versailles, Yvelines
Versailles, Yvelines
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Flag
Versailles, Yvelines
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Louis XIII built the original hunting lodge that will become the
Palace of Versailles under his son and successor Louis XIV
Versailles, Yvelines
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Versailles in 1789.
43.
Vitry-sur-Seine
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Vitry-sur-Seine is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 7.5 km from the centre of Paris, Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin Vitriacum, and before that Victoriacum, meaning estate of Victorius, in 1897 the name of the commune officially became Vitry-sur-Seine, in order to distinguish it from other communes of France also called Vitry. Musée dArt Contemporain du Val-de-Marne For some years, Vitry-sur-Seine operated a policy of bringing art to all. For this reason, the commune contains over 100 contemporary sculptures, Vitry hosts the Musée dArt Contemporain du Val-de-Marne. Opened on 18 November 2005, this museum offers in addition to the workshops of arts, an auditorium. Vitry is one of the cities that contributed to the development of the Hip hop movement in France, consequentially, urban art has a very important place in the city Vitry-sur-Seine is served by two stations on Paris RER line C, Vitry-sur-Seine and Les Ardoines. Orly Airport is located near Vitry-sur-Seine, the bordering towns are Ivry-sur-Seine, Villejuif, Chevilly-Larue, Thiais, Choisy-le-Roi, Alfortville. In 2008 the population of the city was estimated at 82,500 inhabitants, the rate of unemployment is 26. 5%, while national average is under 10% Vitry-sur-Seine is the fiftieth most populated city of France and the tenth of Île-de-France. As of circa 1998 Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry had a combined Asian population of 3,600 and that year about 250 Asians from those communes worked in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, and the overall demographics of Ivry and Vitry Asians were similar to those in the 13th arrondissement
Vitry-sur-Seine
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The town hall
44.
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
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Antony is a French commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 11.3 km from the centre of Paris, Antony is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and the seat of the arrondissement of Antony. Watered by the Bièvre, a tributary of the Seine, Antony is located at the crossroads of important transport routes. Little urbanized until the early 20th century, the city grew considerably between the two wars, under Senator-Mayor Auguste Mounié, from 4,000 to 20,000 inhabitants. In the early 1960s the population increased from 25,000 to 50,000 to accommodate the repatriated people from Algeria. Antony is a city in the suburbs of Paris located in the Hurepoix and is the chief town of the arrondissement of Hauts-de-Seine -12.5 km south-west of Notre-Dame Cathedral. Its altitude is 48m above sea level at the lowest point at rue Gabriel Chamon in the Bièvre Valley, one branch of the Bièvre upstream flows in the open through Heller Park in an area where the Bièvre is maintained by the Inter-communal association for development of the Bièvre Valley. From there it has been channeled and covered since the decision of the council on 26 October 1950 nearly all the way to Paris. It then becomes part of the network of the Inter-departmental association for sanitation of the Paris agglomeration, since the early 2000s, the restoration of the open air to the Bièvre at Antony and downstream has been envisaged. In 2003 this was done to Fresnes at the Pars des Prés on the edge of the La Fontaine district of Antony. Antony is bisected by the South Parisian Green corridor which forms a portion of the via Turonensis, the commune area is 956 hectares with the altitude varying between 45 and 103 m. The plateaux of Beauce ends in the north in an area crossed by tributaries of the Seine. Antony is located in the extreme north-east of this area, called Hurepoix, the crust of limestone of Beauce ends with a ledge at the edge of the Bois de Verrières. These green and blue form a completely waterproof layer about 10 m thick. These set the date of these layers to the Tertiary period when the sea occupying the centre of the Paris Basin began to retreat, the old village of Antony is located on the green marl at the edge of the outcrop of the Water table. Antony climate type is of degraded oceanic, the most commonly used meteorological observation stations for Antony are those at Orly and at the airport of Vélizy-Villacoublay, both being communes located near Antony. The climate in the departments of the suburbs of Paris is characterized by sunshine. Crossing Antony from east to west is the A86 autoroute which, since 1996, the A86 is heavily used by Parisians during peak hours in the morning and late afternoon
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
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The Croix de Berny fountain at the northern entrance to Antony
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
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The
Bièvre at the Parc des prés at
Fresnes
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
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Access to the tunnel under the
A86 autoroute, at the sub-prefecture level
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
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30 km/h zone (cemetery district)
45.
Le Blanc-Mesnil
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Le Blanc-Mesnil is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.6 km from the center of Paris, the name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th century as Mansionile Blaun. The name is interpreted by some as a reference to the houses of Le Blanc-Mesnil which were whitened due to the flour dust coming from the windmills located there in ancient times. One researcher, however, thinks that blanc had also the meaning of free in Old French, none of these interpretations is certain. Bondy Aulnay-sous-Bois Drancy Le Bourget Dugny Bonneuil-en-France in Val dOise and Gonesse, on 2 December 1792, a third of the territory of Aulnay was detached and became the commune of Le Blanc-Mesnil. Parc dactivité du Coudray Zone industrielle de la Molette in Blanc-Mesnil, Bourget and it includes Centre Albert Einstein, created in 1987. Parc Modus Garonor Pont-Yblon Centre daffaires international Paris Nord II Carré des Aviateurs Espace Descartes, three hotels three stars, a Novotel hotel. Several French companies have their headquarters in Blanc-Mesnil, such as Forclum. Le Blanc-Mesnil is also served by Drancy station on Paris RER line B, the bus company provides 17 lines of buses to travel within the city. Ideally placed at the junction between the A1 and the A3, catholic churches, Église Notre-Dame, Église Saint-Charles, Église Sainte-Thérèse. Evangelic churches, Charisma église chrétienne The commune has the schools, four preschools in the south, seven preschools in the centre of town. It has four schools in the south, six elementary schools in the centre. Le Blanc-Mesnil is twinned with, Sandwell in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom, Peterhof in Russia, Debre Berhan in Ethiopia, Beni Douala in Algeria. For fifteen years, twinning between le Blanc-Mesnil and Debre Berhan has been based on the development, water sanitation, education, construction of roads, in a rare spirit, that of a collaboration of equal to equal. Histoire anecdotique de Blanc-Mesnil, Albert Galicier,1973, Le Blanc-Mesnil des temps modernes, 1935-1985,1986. Le Blanc-Mesnil, Pierre Bourgeade, Gilles Smadja, Jean-Pierre Vallorani, Le Blanc-Mesnil, citoyens de demain, Patrick Laigre et Jocelyne Héquet,1993. Le Blanc-Mesnil,2000 regards, Photographies de Luc Choquer, François Crignon, twinning between Le Blanc-Mesnil and Debré-Berhan. Official website Forum culturel Blog du Forum culturel
Le Blanc-Mesnil
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The view towards the town hall
