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.
Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Seine-Saint-Denis is a French department located in the Île-de-France region. Locally, it is referred to colloquially as quatre-vingt treize or neuf trois. The learned and rarely used demonym for the inhabitants is Séquano-Dionysiens, Seine-Saint-Denis is located to the northeast of Paris. It has an area of only 236 km², making it one of the smallest departments in France. Seine-Saint-Denis and two other departments, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne, form a ring around Paris, known as the Petite Couronne. They form, together with Paris the Greater Paris since January 1st 2016, Seine-Saint-Denis is made up of three departmental arrondissements and 40 communes, Seine-Saint-Denis was created in January 1968, through the implementation of a law passed in July 1964. It was formed from the part of the Seine department to the north and north-east of the Paris ring road, Seine-Saint-Denis has a history as a veritable left-wing stronghold, belonging to the ceinture rouge of Paris. The French Communist Party especially has maintained a strong presence in the department. A commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, Clichy-sous-Bois, was the scene of the death of two youths which sparked the riots of autumn 2005. In October - November,9,000 cars were burned and 3,000 rioters were arrested, Seine-Saint-Denis is the French department with the highest proportion of immigrants,21. 7% at the 1999 census. This figure does not include the children of immigrants born on French soil as well as some native elites from former French colonies, the ratio of ethnic minorities is difficult to estimate accurately as French law prohibits the collection of ethnic data for census taking purposes. However estimates suggest there are 500,000 Muslims out of a population of 1.53 million. Saint-Denis is home to the Union of French Islamic Organizations in the Bourget district, in 2005,56. 7% of young people under 18 were of foreign origin including 38% of African origin. Islam is believed to be the most practiced religion in the department, Seine-Saint-Denis was scheduled to be the site of a 2004 International Exhibition. Website of the General council Prefecture website Seine-Saint-Denis Tourist Board
Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Prefecture building of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, in Bobigny
Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Memorial to King
Louis XVI and Queen
Marie Antoinette,in
Basilica of St Denis
Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Aerospace Museum in
Le Bourget
Seine-Saint-Denis
–
Canal de l'Ourcq
8.
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
9.
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.
10.
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
11.
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.
12.
Blazon
–
In heraldry and heraldic vexillology, a blazon is a formal description of a coat of arms, flag or similar emblem, from which the reader can reconstruct the appropriate image. The verb to blazon means to such a description. Blazon also refers to the language in which a blazon is written. This language has its own vocabulary, grammar and syntax, or rules governing word order, other objects — such as badges, banners, and seals — may also be described in blazon. The word blazon is not to be confused with the verb to emblazon, or the noun emblazonment, the word blazon is derived from French blason, shield. It was found in English by the end of the 14th century, formerly, experts in heraldry assumed that the word was related to the German verb blasen, to blow. Present-day lexicographers reject this theory as conjectural and disproved, the blazon of armorials follows a rigid formula, designed to eliminate ambiguity of interpretation, to be as concise as possible and to avoid repetition and extraneous punctuation. The nomenclature is equally significant, and its aim is to combine definitive exactness with a brevity that is indeed laconic. The rules of blazonry are as follows, Every blazon of a coat of arms begins by describing the field, with first letter as a capital, in a majority of cases this is a single tincture, e. g. Azure. If the field is complex, the variation is described, followed by the used, e. g. Chequy gules. The most common names are historically abbreviated. A Tincture is named only once in a given blazon, the principal charge are then named, with their tincture, e. g. a bend or. The principal charge is followed by any other charges placed around or on it, if a charge be a bird or beast, its attitude is described, followed by the animals tincture, followed by anything that may be differently coloured, e. g. An eagle displayed gules armed and wings charged with trefoils or, any accessories present — such as crown/coronet, helmet, torse, mantling, crest, motto, supporters and compartment — are then described in turn, using the same terminology and syntax. According to Boutell, It appears desirable always to print all heraldic blazon in italic, heraldry has its own vocabulary, word-order and punctuation, and showing it in italics thus indicates to the reader the presence of a quasi-foreign language. A quartered shield is blazoned one quarter at a time, proceeding by rows from chief to base, a divided shield is blazoned party per or parted per, though the word party or parted is almost always omitted. A tincture is sometimes replaced by of the first, of the second etc. to avoid repetition of tincture names, counterchanged means that a charge which straddles a line of division is tinctured of the same tinctures as the divided field, reversed. But as to the formulae of blazoning, John Brooke-Little, Norroy and Ulster King of Arms, wrote in 1985
Blazon
–
Azure, a
bend or. A coat made famous by the mediaeval court case
Scrope v. Grosvenor.
13.
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
14.
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
–
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and Île-de-France region of France. Today forming part of the suburbs of Paris, Pierrefitte lies 12.4 km from the centre of the French capital. The town is served by Pierrefitte – Stains railway station on line D of the RER regional suburban rail network, the south of the commune, where the National Archives of France relocated in 2013, is also served by Saint-Denis – Université station on Paris Métro Line 13. This station lies on the border between the communes of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and Saint-Denis, Paris 8 University and Paris 13 University serve area students. The actor and playwright Frédérick Lemaître lived in Pierrefitte between 1830 and 1845, the naturalist Alcide dOrbigny died in Pierrefitte in 1857 and is buried in the municipal cemetery. Pierrefitte is twinned with Braintree in the United Kingdom Rüdersdorf bei Berlin in Germany, communes of the Seine-Saint-Denis department INSEE Official web portal of the town of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
–
The town hall of Pierrefitte-sur-Seine
15.
Pablo Neruda
–
Pablo Neruda was the pen name and, later, legal name of the Chilean poet-diplomat and politician Ricardo Eliécer Neftalí Reyes Basoalto. He derived his pen name from the Czech poet Jan Neruda, Neruda won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1971. Neruda became known as a poet when he was 10 years old and he often wrote in green ink, which was his personal symbol for desire and hope. The Colombian novelist Gabriel García Márquez once called Neruda the greatest poet of the 20th century in any language, harold Bloom included Neruda as one of the 26 writers central to the Western tradition in his book The Western Canon. On July 15,1945, at Pacaembu Stadium in São Paulo, Brazil, during his lifetime, Neruda occupied many diplomatic positions and served a term as a Senator for the Chilean Communist Party. When President González Videla outlawed communism in Chile in 1948, a warrant was issued for Nerudas arrest, friends hid him for months in the basement of a house in the port city of Valparaíso. Later, Neruda escaped through a pass near Maihue Lake into Argentina. Years later, Neruda was an advisor to Chiles socialist President Salvador Allende. When Neruda returned to Chile after his Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Neruda died in his house in Isla Negra on 23 September 1973 six and a half hours after that injection. Pinochet, backed by elements of the forces, denied permission for Nerudas funeral to be made a public event. However, thousands of grieving Chileans disobeyed the curfew and crowded the streets, soon after her death, Reyes moved to Temuco, where he married Trinidad Candia Marverde, a woman with whom he had had another child nine years earlier, a boy named Rodolfo. Neruda grew up in Temuco with Rodolfo and a half-sister, Laura and he composed his first poems in the winter of 1914. During this winter, he wrote often about dinosaurs, on July 18,1917, at the age of thirteen, he published his first work, an essay entitled Entusiasmo y perseverancia in the local daily newspaper La Mañana, signed Neftalí Reyes. From 1918 to mid-1920 he published poems, such as Mis ojos. In 1919, he participated in the literary contest Juegos Florales del Maule, by mid-1920, when he adopted the pseudonym Pablo Neruda, he was a published author of poems, prose, and journalism. He is thought to have named himself Neruda after the Czech poet Jan Neruda, the young poets intention in publishing under a pseudonym was to avoid his fathers disapproval of his poems. In 1921, at the age of 16, Neruda moved to Santiago to study French at the Universidad de Chile, both works were critically acclaimed and have been translated into many languages. Over the decades, Veinte poemas sold millions of copies and became Nerudas best-known work, almost one hundred years later, Veinte Poemas still retains its place as the best selling poetry book in the Spanish language
Pablo Neruda
–
Pablo Neruda in 1963
Pablo Neruda
–
Neruda as a young man
Pablo Neruda
–
Neruda with his wife and
Erich Honecker in 1951
Pablo Neruda
–
La Sebastiana, Neruda's house in
Valparaíso
16.
Town twinning
–
In recent times, town twinning has increasingly been used to form strategic international business links between member cities. In the United Kingdom, the twin towns is most commonly used. In mainland Europe, the most commonly used terms are twin towns, partnership towns, partner towns, the European Commission uses the term twinned towns and refers to the process as town twinning. Spain uses the term ciudades hermanadas that means sister cities, Germany, Poland and the Czech Republic use Partnerstadt / Miasto Partnerskie / Partnerské město, which translate as Partner Town or City. France uses Ville Jumelée, and Italy has Gemellaggio and Comune gemellato, in the Netherlands, the term is Stedenband. In Greece, the word αδελφοποίηση has been adopted, in Iceland, the terms vinabæir and vinaborgir are used. In the former Soviet Bloc, twin towns and twin cities are used, the Americas, South Asia, and Australasia use the term sister cities or twin cities. In China, the term is 友好城市, sometimes, other government bodies enter into a twinning relationship, such as the agreement between the provinces of Hainan in China and Jeju-do in South Korea. The Douzelage is a twinning association with one town from each of the member states of the European Union. In recent years, the term city diplomacy has gained increased usage and acceptance, particularly as a strand of paradiplomacy and public diplomacy. It is formally used in the workings of the United Cities and Local Governments, the importance of cities developing their own foreign economic policies on trade, foreign investment, tourism and attracting foreign talent has also been highlighted by the World Economic Forum. The earliest known town twinning in Europe was between Paderborn, Germany, and Le Mans, France, in 836, starting in 1905, Keighley in West Yorkshire, England, had a twinning arrangement with French communities Suresnes and Puteaux. The first recorded modern twinning agreement was between Keighley and Poix-du-Nord in Nord, France, in 1920 following the end of the First World War and this was initially referred to as an adoption of the French town, formal twinning charters were not exchanged until 1986. The practice was continued after the Second World War as a way to promote mutual understanding, for example, Coventry twinned with Stalingrad and later with Dresden as an act of peace and reconciliation, all three cities having been heavily bombed during the war. Similarly, in 1947, Bristol Corporation sent five leading citizens on a mission to Hanover. Reading in 1947 was the first British town to form links with an enemy city – Düsseldorf. Since 9 April 1956 Rome and Paris have been exclusively and reciprocally twinned with other, following the motto, Only Paris is worthy of Rome. Within Europe, town twinning is supported by the European Union, the support scheme was established in 1989
Town twinning
–
Twin towns sign in
Oskarshamn,
Sweden
Town twinning
–
An example of a 'gemellaggio' (twinning) agreement between
Castellabate, Italy and
Blieskastel, Germany
Town twinning
–
Column dedicated to
Paris in
Rome. Since April 9, 1956 Rome and Paris are exclusively and reciprocally twinned with each other, following the motto: "Only Paris is worthy of Rome; only Rome is worthy of Paris."
Town twinning
–
The painting of Gagny
17.
United Kingdom
–
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom or Britain, is a sovereign country in western Europe. Lying off the north-western coast of the European mainland, the United Kingdom includes the island of Great Britain, Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that shares a land border with another sovereign state—the Republic of Ireland. The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland, with an area of 242,500 square kilometres, the United Kingdom is the 78th-largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th-largest in Europe. It is also the 21st-most populous country, with an estimated 65.1 million inhabitants, together, this makes it the fourth-most densely populated country in the European Union. The United Kingdom is a monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance. The monarch is Queen Elizabeth II, who has reigned since 6 February 1952, other major urban areas in the United Kingdom include the regions of Birmingham, Leeds, Glasgow, Liverpool and Manchester. The United Kingdom consists of four countries—England, Scotland, Wales, the last three have devolved administrations, each with varying powers, based in their capitals, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast, respectively. The relationships among the countries of the UK have changed over time, Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain, which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Five-sixths of Ireland seceded from the UK in 1922, leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain, there are fourteen British Overseas Territories. These are the remnants of the British Empire which, at its height in the 1920s, British influence can be observed in the language, culture and legal systems of many of its former colonies. The United Kingdom is a country and has the worlds fifth-largest economy by nominal GDP. The UK is considered to have an economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index. It was the worlds first industrialised country and the worlds foremost power during the 19th, the UK remains a great power with considerable economic, cultural, military, scientific and political influence internationally. It is a nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fourth or fifth in the world. The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 and it has been a leading member state of the EU and its predecessor, the European Economic Community, since 1973. However, on 23 June 2016, a referendum on the UKs membership of the EU resulted in a decision to leave. The Acts of Union 1800 united the Kingdom of Great Britain, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have devolved self-government
United Kingdom
–
Stonehenge, in
Wiltshire, was erected around 2500 BC.
United Kingdom
–
Flag
United Kingdom
–
The
Bayeux Tapestry depicts the
Battle of Hastings, 1066, and the events leading to it.
United Kingdom
–
The
Treaty of Union led to a single united kingdom encompassing all Great Britain.
18.
Cheshunt
–
Cheshunt /ˈtʃɛzənt/ is a town in the metropolitan area of London, the Greater London Urban Area and the Borough of Broxbourne, the most southeasterly borough in the county of Hertfordshire. It is north of central London by 12 miles and has a population of around 52,000 according to the United Kingdoms 2001 Census, the Prime Meridian passes to the east of Cheshunt. This is commemorated in the arms of the former Cheshunt urban district council, Cheshunt was a settlement on Ermine Street, the main Roman road leading north from London. This origin was investigated by the archaeology programme Time Team. Before the Norman Conquest, the manor of Cheshunt was held by Eddeva the Fair, the parish church of St Mary the Virgin was first recorded in a charter of 1146, but was entirely rebuilt between 1418 and 1448 with a three-stage tower topped by an octagonal turret. As Princess Elizabeth, Queen Elizabeth I lived at Cheshunt in the care of Sir Anthony Denny, Richard Cromwell, Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, died here in 1712. In 1825, Cheshunt was also the location of the Cheshunt Railway, the towns Bury Green neighbourhood was once the home of singer Cliff Richard. Lotus Cars as well as the nationally famous Debenhams were also founded in Cheshunt, and the headquarters of Tesco, in 2002, Cheshunt hosted the only officially licensed European BotCon convention to date. Services in Cheshunt include the Brookfield Centre, which includes Next, Boots, Argos, River Island and Marks & Spencer stores, there is a Marriott Hotel nearby, and the town centre includes a wide variety of smaller shops. Being located in the Lea Valley, Cheshunt has access to the Lee Valley Park, the park is accessible at many points, one being extremely close to the towns railway station at Windmill Lane. The B198 which runs near the site has been renamed Lieutenant Ellis Way, after the pilot. One of the firemen who attended the scene secured funding in 2010 for a permanent memorial at the scene, up until 2004, Temple Bar stood in Theobalds Park, having been moved from London at the turn of the 19th century. The gateway has since been re-erected in London at Paternoster Square on the side of St Pauls Cathedral. The park received a Green Flag award in 2013, cheshunts best-known employer is Tesco, whose head office has been in Cheshunt for many years. A small store has been in the centre for many years and is still open today. In 1983 a new out-of-town Tesco store located to the north of the opened, named Brookfield Farm. It later expanded, and a branch of Marks & Spencer built next door, on 8 January 2015, Tesco announced among other major cost cutting measures that its headquarters were to move from Cheshunt to Welwyn Garden City. In 1959, Colin Chapman moved his fledgling Lotus group of companies, including Lotus Cars and Team Lotus, racing cars from here won the first two of its seven constructor championships in before moving to Hethel, Norfolk, in 1966
Cheshunt
–
The Church of St Mary
Cheshunt
–
Tesco House, the
Tesco head office, in Cheshunt
Cheshunt
–
North Met Pit, flooded gravel workings
19.
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
20.
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.
21.
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
22.
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
23.
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
24.
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.
25.
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
26.
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
27.
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
28.
Colombes
–
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
–
The town hall of Colombes
29.
Courbevoie
–
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
–
Night view of
La Défense in the south of Courbevoie
Courbevoie
–
Street at the border between Courbevoie and
Asnières
Courbevoie
–
Bridge of Courbevoie,
Georges Seurat, 1886–1887
30.
Nanterre
–
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
–
La Défense
Nanterre
–
Nanterre's twin towns sign.
31.
Rueil-Malmaison
–
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
–
Vue on the Place de l'Église
Rueil-Malmaison
–
Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul church
Rueil-Malmaison
–
The
Château de Malmaison, recto, verso
Rueil-Malmaison
–
Bedroom of
Joséphine de Beauharnais and
Napoléon
32.
Versailles, Yvelines
–
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
–
Flag
Versailles, Yvelines
–
Louis XIII built the original hunting lodge that will become the
Palace of Versailles under his son and successor Louis XIV
Versailles, Yvelines
–
Versailles in 1789.
33.
Vitry-sur-Seine
–
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
–
The town hall
34.
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
–
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
–
The Croix de Berny fountain at the northern entrance to Antony
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
–
The
Bièvre at the Parc des prés at
Fresnes
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
–
Access to the tunnel under the
A86 autoroute, at the sub-prefecture level
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
–
30 km/h zone (cemetery district)
35.
Le Blanc-Mesnil
–
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
–
The view towards the town hall
36.
Bondy
–
Bondy is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.9 km from the centre of Paris, the name Bondy was recorded for the first time around AD600 as Bonitiacum, meaning estate of Bonitius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. During the Middle Ages Bondy was primarily forest, the forest of Bondy was a well-known haunt of bandits and robbers and was extremely dangerous. On 3 January 1905, a third of the territory of Bondy was detached, on 30 October 2007, a gas explosion killed one person and injured 47 people. Bondy and its integration into Paris is the subject of part of the second-last chapter of Graham Robbs book Parisians, Bondy is served by Bondy station on Paris RER line E and the Line 4 of the Tramways in Île-de-France. As of 2016 the commune had 27 public primary schools with 6,900 students, there are also five public junior high schools and three public senior high schools. Communes of the Seine-Saint-Denis department INSEE Town council website
Bondy
–
The commercial zone of Bondy on the
N3 road
37.
Cergy
–
Cergy is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 27.8 km from the center of Paris, in the new town of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central, the sous-préfecture building and administration, on the other hand, are located inside the commune of Pontoise. The name Cergy comes from Medieval Latin Sergiacum, meaning estate of Sergius, Cergy is the chief town of two cantons, Cergy-1 and Cergy-2. Tres Cantos, Spain West Lancashire, United Kingdom, Cergy is also informally twinned with a village in Palestine and a village in Senegal. When Cergy was selected to become the center of a new town, the commune had only 2,895 inhabitants in 1968. It then started to develop quickly, exceeding 10,000 inhabitants in the mid-1970s. It is in this decade that its growth was most spectacular, the increase continued since, but at a notably slower pace, to reach 54,500 at 2004 estimates. However, on 1 January 2000, the commune lost a portion of its territory to the adjacent commune of Courdimanche. The official census figures have thus been revised downward from the 1999 official 54,781 to 54,719, port Cergy is a marina on the River Oise at pk 9. The site comprises both housing and recreational yachts as well as a boating school, the marina can hold 103 ships ranging 5 to 22m long and. The northern part of the site is reserved for restaurants and shops and have built around a small bassin. Ham is a village to the south of Cergy. The village used to be part of the Sergentery and then commune of Neuville-sur-Oise but has since been amalgamated in the commune of Cergy, on its territory is the outdoor leisure centre Base de Loisirs de Cergy-Neuville. Cergy is served by three stations on Paris RER line A and on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line, Cergy – Préfecture, Cergy – Saint-Christophe, Cergy is served by direct buses from Charles de Gaulle Airport. Reaching, in the year of 2008, a rate of 99,87 criminal incidents per 1000 inhabitants, the town was used as a filming location for Henri Verneuils film I. comme Icare released in 1979, starring Yves Montand. The EDF-GDF tower designed by architect Renzo Moro is the building from which the shots were fired to assassinate president Marc Jarry, the country that the movie depicts is not named, although the United States is perhaps suggested. The filmmakers chose the modern and innovative architecture of the new city to avoid depicting any particular country, communes of the Val-dOise department Official website Mérimée database – Cultural heritage Land use
Cergy
–
Town hall
Cergy
–
Map of the quarters of Cergy.
Cergy
–
Port Cergy.
Cergy
–
Train station of Cergy le Haut.
38.
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
–
Chelles is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region 18 km from the center of Paris, at the Merovingian villa of Calae the abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Chelles was founded by Balthild, a seventh-century queen of the Franks. It was largely demolished at the time of the French Revolution, there are two main streets in Chelles, Avenue Foch and Avenue de la Résistance. Chelles is served by Chelles – Gournay station on Paris RER line, as of 2016 the commune has 13,000 students in 46 public and private schools. The commune includes 19 public preschools and 16 public elementary schools, the commune includes the Musée Alfred-Bonno. There is also a swimming pool, and a public skate park which opened in 1999. Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department INSEE Official website 1999 Land Use, from IAURIF French Ministry of Culture list for Chelles Map of Chelles on Michelin
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
–
Chelles
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
–
For other places with the same name, see
Chelles (disambiguation).
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
–
Parc Emile Fouchard
Chelles, Seine-et-Marne
39.
Clamart
–
Clamart is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.7 km from the center of Paris, the town is divided into two parts, separated by a forest, bas Clamart, the historical centre, and petit Clamart with urbanization developed in the 1960s replacing pea fields. The canton of Clamart includes only a part of the commune, the other part of the commune belongs to the canton of Le Plessis-Robinson. The city name is famous in French gastronomy, a specialty with peas as a side-dish, is called à la Clamart. Close to Paris and its marketplace, Clamarts peas were the first of the season. On 22 August 1962 the French President Charles de Gaulle was the target of an assassination attempt organised by the French Air Force Lieutenant-Colonel, as de Gaulles black Citroën DS19 sped through Petit-Clamart it was met by a barrage of submachine-gun fire. De Gaulle and his entourage, which included his wife, survived the attempt without any casualties or serious injuries while the perpetrators were subsequently all arrested. The leader of the attempt, Jean Bastien-Thiry, was executed by firing squad after his 1963 conviction. Clamart is served by Clamart station on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line, there are also several bus lines connecting Clamart to neighbouring towns. Clamart has multiple primary schools, and attendance is determined by ones residence, junior high schools, Collège Alain Founier Collège Maison Blanche Senior high school, Lycée Jacques Monod Henri Matisse lived in Clamart before the First World War. Jean Arp lived in Clamart in the 1930s, yasser Arafat died in the Hôpital dinstruction des armées Percy in 2004. Jean Bastien-Thiry, leader of 1962 assassination attempt against Charles de Gaulle, nikolai Berdyaev died here in 1948. Hatem Ben Arfa was born here in 1987, theofan, archbishop and theologian of Eastern Orthodox Church, lived here in 1931. Beauford Delaney, an American born artist, moved to the town in 1953
Clamart
–
Town hall
40.
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
–
Clichy is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located on the Seine River and 6.4 km from the center of Paris, the name Clichy was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as Clippiacum, later corrupted into Clichiacum, meaning estate of Cleppius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. In the 13th century, the plain of Clichy was used as a garenne, i. e. a hunting park, after the Revolution, the French administration officially recorded the name of the commune only as Clichy, dropping the la-Garenne. This is the term in use in the 21st century, but, in many instances the municipality of Clichy refers to the commune traditionally as Clichy-la-Garenne, although this has not been the official name for more than 200 years. Clichy was the capital of the Merovingians during the rule of Dagobert I and its church was built in the 17th century under the direction of St Vincent de Paul, who had previously been curé of Clichy. In 1830, part of the territory of Clichy was detached, on 1 January 1860, the city of Paris annexed neighboring communes, taking most of Batignolles-Monceau, which now forms the major part of the 17th arrondissement of Paris. A small part of the territory of Batignolles-Monceau was returned to Clichy, on 11 January 1867, part of the territory of Clichy was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Neuilly-sur-Seine to create the commune of Levallois-Perret. The canton covers a part of the commune, the other is in the part of Levallois-Perret. In addition, Monoprix has its office in Clichy. Société Bic has its office in Clichy. At one time Fnac had its office in Clichy. In 2008 the head office moved to Ivry-sur-Seine, Clichy is served by Mairie de Clichy station on Paris Métro Line 13 It is also served by Clichy – Levallois station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. The commune has 22 primary schools, three high schools, and two senior high schools. The junior highs include, Collège Jean Jaurès Collège Jean Macé Collège Vincent Van Gogh The senior high schools, Lycée Newton Lycée René Auffray Olivier Messiaen, French composer, henry Miller, American author, lived with Alfred Perlès at 4 avenue Anatole France from 1932 to 1934
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
–
The church of
Saint-Vincent-de-Paul, in Clichy
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
–
The wharf and bridge of Clichy.
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
–
Passage Berthier.
Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine
–
Railway station.
41.
Drancy
–
Drancy is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km from the center of Paris, the name Drancy comes from Medieval Latin Derenciacum, and before that Terentiacum, meaning estate of Terentius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. In the 17th century, Drancy was divided into two villages, Drancy le Grand and le Petit Drancy. The quarter Village Parisien is built on the old location of the hamlet of Groslay which was surrounded by the forest of Bondy — hence the name of rue des Bois de Groslay, the end of nineteenth century was marked by the industrialisation and by the development of rail transports. During the Franco-Prussian war, Le Bourget was the site of an important battle, during the second world war, Drancy was the site of the Drancy internment camp where Jews, Gypsies, and others were held before being shipped to the Nazi concentration camps. In 1976, the Memorial to the Deportation at Drancy was created by sculptor Shlomo Selinger to commemorate the French Jews imprisoned in the camp, data climate for Le Bourget 1971-2000 Drancys buildings are too diverse to be characterised by any particular architectural style. We can see traditional houses from different periods, some of them with a style Art Nouveau are typical of the 19th and 20th centuries. We can see housing estates and a garden city, most recently, full of small buildings were built. The parc de Ladoucette is the park of Drancy. It contains a pond, an educational farm and the castle of Ladoucette. The castle was built in 1533 by Pierre Séguier, part of the commune form the canton of Drancy. The other part belongs to the canton of Le Bourget, Drancy is in Zone 3 of the Carte orange. The city is served by Le Bourget station and by Drancy station on Paris RER line B, Le Bourget station is situated near Drancy. The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER Rapid transit system serving Paris, Drancy is also served by the Paris Tramway Line 1 with five stops and by twelve buses. By the RER B, Drancy is near many parisian railway stations, Gare du Nord is now just 10 minutes away, charles de Gaulle Airport can be reached in 30 minutes too. Drancy is served by the A3 motorway and the A86 motorway
Drancy
–
The parc de Ladoucette.
Drancy
–
Drancy
Drancy
–
Railway station of Drancy
42.
Fontenay-sous-Bois
–
Fontenay-sous-Bois is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.3 km from the center of Paris, the name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as Fontanetum, meaning the springs, from Medieval Latin fontana. The wood referred to in the name of the commune is the Bois de Vincennes, in 1929, the commune of Fontenay-sous-Bois lost more than a third of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, a large part of which belonged to Fontenay-sous-Bois. The Rosettes fountain was lost during World War II, years later, it was found by chance in a market in the South of France, the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois recovered it, and re-installed it in the place where it can be seen today. Fontenay-sous-Bois is served by Fontenay-sous-Bois station on Paris RER line A and it is also served by Val de Fontenay station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line A and RER line E. The commune has eleven preschools, eleven schools, one junior high school. Collège Victor Duruy and Lycée Pablo Picasso are the secondary schools. The mayor is now part of the few PCF mayors who practice the expulsion of squatters, in 2015 a street in Brovary, Ukraine was named after its sister city Fontenay-sous-Bois. Communes of the Val-de-Marne department Official website
Fontenay-sous-Bois
–
A road in the centre of Fontenay-sous-Bois
Fontenay-sous-Bois
–
Roublot Market
Fontenay-sous-Bois
–
Place Général Leclerc
Fontenay-sous-Bois
–
Church of St Germain l'Auxerrois
43.
Ivry-sur-Seine
–
Ivry-sur-Seine is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 5.3 km from the center of Paris, pariss main Asian district, the Quartier Asiatique in the 13th arrondissement, borders the commune and now extends into the northern parts of Ivry. Asian commercial activity, especially Chinese and Vietnamese, has increased in Ivry-sur-Seine during the past two decades. The commune contains one of the highest concentrations of Vietnamese in France, politically, Ivry-sur-Seine has historically demonstrated strong electoral support for the French Communist Party. Between 1925 and 2015 the office of mayor was held by just three individuals, Georges Marrane, Jacques Laloë, and Pierre Gosnat, all members of the Communist Party, Ivry-sur-Seine is twinned with Bishop Auckland in County Durham, England. Originally, Ivry-sur-Seine was called simply Ivry, the name Ivry comes from Medieval Latin Ivriacum or Ibriacum, perhaps meaning estate of Eburius, a Gallo-Roman landowner. In 1897, the name of the commune officially became Ivry-sur-Seine, on 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, about a third of the commune of Ivry-sur-Seine was annexed to Paris, Ivry-sur-Seine is perhaps most famous as the place of execution of Jean-Marie Bastien-Thiry in March 1963. Richard Ellman also notes that James Joyces daughter, Lucia, received treatment in the communes hospital in 1936 and was visited by both Joyce and Samuel Beckett. Fnac has its office in the commune. The head office moved there in 2008, E. Leclercs head office is in the commune. Ivry-sur-Seine is served by two stations on the Paris Métro Line 7, Pierre et Marie Curie and Mairie dIvry. The east of the commune is served by Ivry-sur-Seine station on Paris RER line C with stops at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, orly Airport is located to the south of Ivry-sur-Seine. That year about 250 Asians from those communes worked in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, Pierre Contant dIvry, architect born in Ivry-sur-Seine. Maurice Thorez, former leader of the French Communist Party, elected deputy for dIvry-sur-Seine in 1932 until his death in 1964, Jean Renaudie, architect and founder of the Atelier de Montrouge who was responsible for the complete renovation of Ivry town centre. Nicolas Appert, inventor, spent a number of years in Ivry-sur-Seine Jean Ferrat, singer, antonin Artaud, writer, died in Ivry-sur-Seine on 4 March 1948
Ivry-sur-Seine
–
Town hall
Ivry-sur-Seine
–
Ivry RER Railway Station
Ivry-sur-Seine
–
Old Windmill near the 13th Arrondissement
Ivry-sur-Seine
–
Port à l'anglais Bridge
44.
Levallois-Perret
–
Levallois-Perret is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.4 km from the centre of Paris and it is the most densely populated town in Europe. The name Levallois-Perret comes from two housing developments, Champerret and Village Levallois, which resulted in the incorporation of the commune, on the territory of what is now Levallois-Perret, before the French Revolution, the village of Villiers and the hamlet of Courcelles were there. They now give their names to two Paris Métro stations, later in 1845, Nicolas-Eugène Levallois started some housing developments for landowner André Noël on his land near La Planchette. The land developed by Nicolas-Eugène Levallois soon became known as Village Levallois, in the 1860s, the village had grown to the point of forming a single builtup area. Several demands were made to the authorities for the incorporation of the area, the Eiffel company had its factory in the city and so the structure of the Statue of Liberty and the Eiffel Tower were built there. Levallois-Perret became an important centre of the early French automotive industry with the establishment of such as Clément-Bayard, Delage and coachbuilders Chapron. Citroën purchased the Clément-Bayard factory and the famous Citroën 2CV was produced in Levallois for nearly forty years, Levallois-Perret was also an important centre of cosmetics industry in the early 20th century. It is also home to the large European commercial real estate company Atisreal, the northern part of the famous Île de la Jatte in the river Seine, where French impressionist painters created many of their masterpieces, is part of the commune of Levallois-Perret. Part of the healthy Ouest Parisien, Levallois-Perret is the most densely-populated commune of France, patrick Balkany has been mayor of the city for almost 20 years in a row, his wife, Isabelle Balkany Smadja, works for the municipality. Speed Rabbit Pizza also has its headquarters in the commune, EVA Air has its Paris office in Levallois-Perret. According to le journal du net, the debt per inhabitant of Levallois is 9,030 euros, previously Carrefour had its head office in Levallois-Perret. Levallois-Perret is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 3, Louise Michel, Anatole France, and Pont de Levallois – Bécon and it is also served by Clichy – Levallois station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. The municipality of Levallois-Perret operates two bus lines circulating the town. Levallois Sporting Club is one of the most important sports club in France with 14500 members, among them you can find notable sportsperson like Teddy Riner, Gauthier Grumier and Gevrise Emane. During his youth Didier Drogba played for the section, as Joakim Noah did for basket. The traditional coat of arms for the municipality puts emphasis on the importance of industry in the its history. The centre of the consists of a shield with red background, a yellow gearwheel in the bottom left
Levallois-Perret
–
The town hall of Levallois-Perret
Levallois-Perret
–
Typical street in Levallois
45.
Maisons-Alfort
–
Maisons-Alfort is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.4 km from the center of Paris, Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort. The Fort de Charenton, constructed between 1841 and 1845, has since 1959 housed the Commandement des Écoles de la Gendarmerie Nationale, originally, Maisons-Alfort was called simply Maisons. The name Maisons comes from Medieval Latin Mansiones, meaning the houses, at the creation of the commune during the French Revolution, the name of the hamlet of Alfort was joined with the name of Maisons. The name Alfort comes from the manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford, the name of this Manor of Hereford was corrupted into Harefort, then Hallefort, and eventually Alfort. The National Veterinary School of Alfort was settled several centuries later in the manor, on 1 April 1885, 40% of the territory of Maisons-Alfort was detached and became the commune of Alfortville. In 1905, Buffalo Bill stayed two months in Maisons-Alfort while his famous Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performed in Paris, Maisons-Alfort is divided into two cantons, Maisons-Alfort-Nord, with 23,704 inhabitants, Maisons-Alfort-Sud, with 27399 inhabitants. Maisons-Alfort is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 8, École Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, Maisons-Alfort — Stade and it is also served by two stations on Paris RER line D, Maisons-Alfort – Alfortville and Le Vert de Maisons. Communes of the Val-de-Marne department INSEE Mayors of Essonne Association Official website
Maisons-Alfort
–
The church of Sainte-Agnès, in Maisons-Alfort
46.
Meaux
–
Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located 41.1 km east-northeast from the center of Paris, Meaux is a subprefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department. In France, a subprefecture is the chef-lieu of an arrondissement and it is also the chef-lieu of two other smaller administrative land divisions, the cantons of Meaux-Nord and Meaux-Sud. Finally, since its creation in 2003, Meaux has been the center and the town of an agglomeration community. With a population of 51,398 inhabitants, Meaux is the second most populated city in the Seine-et-Marne department after Chelles, inhabitants of Meaux are called Meldois. Both names Meaux and Meldois originated with the Meldi, the Latin name of the original Gaulish tribe who occupied this area of the valley of the Marne river. Although during the Roman period the city was called Iantinum by the Romans, a meander of the Marne river divides the old city into the North Quarter and the South Quarter. The South Quarter of the old city includes the historic covered market. Centuries later, in 1806, during the Napoleonic era, was built the Canal de lOurcq, Meaux is nowadays mainly known for Brie de Meaux and the local variety of mustard. Following the official administrative French AOC there are two designations of Brie de Meaux, Brie de Meaux fermier and Brie de Meaux laitier, several festivals and concerts are celebrated in Meaux, venues for live music like the Music Festival Musikelles. Theres a local concert band in Meaux, LHarmonie du Pays de Meaux. It is constituted by three different ensembles, following different ages, Les Minimes, Les Juniors and LHarmonie de Meaux, the band is also one of the two official music academies of the town. The other one is the conservatory of the city, the show represents the history of Meaux all along the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and also, more recently, during World War I. There is only one cinema in Meaux, The Majestic, a stage theatre. In modern days there are three theatres in the city. One is the Théâtre Gérard Philippe, a theatre, situated close to the covered market. In an eastern area of Meaux, the Beauval quarter, there is the stage theatre of the town, the Salle Champagne, located in the Espace Caravelle. Private theatre companies and community arts associations play in all three theatres, two museums can be found in Meaux, the Musée Bossuet and the Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux
Meaux
–
Façade of the Meaux city hall (built in 1900)
Meaux
–
The episcopal palace (bishop's palace). Behind the palace can be seen the
Meaux Cathedral
Meaux
–
La Liberté éplorée or "The American Monument", erected to the memory of the French casualties during the Battle of the Marne
47.
Neuilly-sur-Seine
–
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a French commune just west of Paris, in the department of Hauts-de-Seine. A suburb of Paris, Neuilly is immediately adjacent to the city, the area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential neighbourhoods, and many corporate headquarters are located there. Originally, Neuilly was a hamlet under the jurisdiction of Villiers. In 1224 another charter of Saint-Denis recorded the name as Lugniacum, in a sales contract dated 1266 the name was also recorded as Luingni. In 1316, however, in a ruling of the parlement of Paris, the name was recorded as Nully, in a document dated 1376 the name was again recorded as Nulliacum. Then in the centuries the name recorded alternated between Luny and Nully, and it is only after 1648 that the name was definitely set as Nully. The name spelt Neuilly after the French Academy standard of pronunciation of the ill as a y, various explanations and etymologies have been proposed to explain these discrepancies in the names of Neuilly recorded over the centuries. The original name of Neuilly may have been Lulliacum or Lugniacum, some interpret Lulliacum or Lugniacum as meaning estate of Lullius, probably a Gallo-Roman landowner. This interpretation is based on the many placenames of France made up of the names of Gallo-Roman landowners and these researchers contend that it is only after the fall of the Roman Empire and the Germanic invasions that the area of Neuilly was deforested and settled. Thus, they think that the name Lulliacum or Lugniacum comes from the ancient Germanic word lund meaning forest, akin to Old Norse lundr meaning grove, however, this interesting theory fails to explain why the d of lund is missing in Lulliacum or Lugniacum. Or perhaps the consonants were simply inverted under the influence of the settlements of France called Neuilly. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes, on that occasion, a part of the territory of Neuilly-sur-Seine was annexed by the city of Paris, and forms now the neighbourhood of Ternes, in the 17th arrondissement of Paris. On 11 January 1867, part of the territory of Neuilly-sur-Seine was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Clichy to create the commune of Levallois-Perret. On 2 May 1897, the name officially became Neuilly-sur-Seine. However, most people continue to refer to Neuilly-sur-Seine as simply Neuilly, during the 1900 Summer Olympics, it hosted the basque pelota events. The American Hospital of Paris was founded in 1906, in 1919, the Treaty of Neuilly was signed with Bulgaria in Neuilly-sur-Seine to conclude its role in World War I. In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was divided between the communes of Neuilly-sur-Seine and Boulogne-Billancourt, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. It was the site of the Château de Neuilly, an important royal residence during the July Monarchy, Neuilly-sur-Seine is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 1, Porte Maillot, Les Sablons and Pont de Neuilly
Neuilly-sur-Seine
–
Town hall
Neuilly-sur-Seine
–
Collège et Lycée Pasteur
Neuilly-sur-Seine
–
Liceo Español Luis Buñuel
