Évry
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Commune of Évry | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 02° 26' 42" E |
| Latitude | 48° 38' 05" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Essonne (préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Évry |
| Canton | Chief town of 2 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Communauté d'agglomération Évry Centre Essonne |
| Mayor | Manuel Valls (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude | 32m
on the banks of the Seine downstream of the lock.–95m to be found in the Parc des Loges. |
| Land area¹ | 8.33 km² |
| Population² (Jan. 1, 2005 estimate) (March 8, 1999 census) |
51,900 49,437 |
| - Density (2005) | 6,230/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 91228/ 91000 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Évry is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 25.0 km. (15.5 miles) from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated commune.
Significant nearby towns include Courcouronnes, Corbeil-Essonnes, Ris-Orangis, Brétigny-sur-Orge, and Draveil.
Contents |
[edit] Name
Originally the commune was called Évry-sur-Seine (meaning "Évry upon Seine"). The name Évry comes from the Celtic name Eburacon or Eburiacos, meaning "land of Eburos" (a Gallic patronym), perhaps the leader of a Gallic tribe in the area before the conquest of Gaul by the Romans. After the conquest, the name was corrupted into Latin Apriacum, then Medieval Latin Avriacum, and later Evriacum.
In 1881 the name of the commune was changed into Évry-Petit-Bourg at the request of entrepreneur Paul Decauville, owner of Ateliers de Petit-Bourg, a large boiler works located in Évry and at the time the largest employer in the area. The factory owed its name to the hamlet of Petit-Bourg (one of the three hamlets on the territory of Évry) where it was built.
On June 29, 1965 the name of the commune was shortened into Évry only. Évry had just been chosen to become a "new town" of the suburbs of Paris, destined to host tens of thousands of suburbanites, and so the name "Petit-Bourg" (literally meaning "little borough, small town" in modern French, although etymologists think that this name was in fact the corruption of an old Celtic word with a totally different meaning) was deemed too old fashioned and improper for the new large suburban city of Évry to be built.
[edit] Administration
Évry is the préfecture (capital) of the Essonne département. It is also the official seat of the arrondissement of Évry, although in reality the sous-préfecture buildings and administration are located in the neighboring commune of Corbeil-Essonnes.
Évry is the capital of two cantons:
- Évry-Nord, 2 communes, population 38,358
- Évry-Sud, 3 communes, population 41,368
[edit] History
In 1965 Évry became part of the French new town initiative and took its current name. Before it was known as Évry-Petit-Bourg and had a population of only a few thousand.
When Évry was built Orly was the N°1 international airport of France and many international companies such as Digital, Hewlett Packard, and Alsthom established their head offices in Évry. However, with the expansion of Charles de Gaulle Roissy airport, all the larger companies have moved out causing the downfall of the many smaller service companies which catered to the lunchtime needs of the thousands of staff which were either displaced or made redundant.
Amongst the few international companies remaining are the hotel and catering firm of Accor, and the supermarket chain of Carrefour. Although both have a postal Cedex address in Evry, geographically they are in Courcouronnes.
The town has tried to counteract this exodus by increasing the capacity of the commercial center, the Agora to 286 shops, mostly selling the same wares (53 ready made women's wear, 19 shoe shops, 18 mens wear, 14 childrens wear, 14 jewellers, 12 mobile phone shops, 9 opticians, and 30 restaurants and snack bars). The car parks were destined to be "pay by the hour" but in view of the lack of trade, the idea has been shelved notwithstanding the expense of installing the barriers and pay points. Another measure taken by the local authorities has been to declare certain quarters a "zone franche" which means that businesses starting up in these areas are exempt from corporation tax along with many other social benefits and aids which makes Évry an attractive town for future entrepreneurs.
The Cathedral of the Resurrection, dedicated to Saint Corbinien is the only cathedral to have been built in Europe during the 20th Century. Pope John-Paul II made a visit on August 22, 1997, and although car parks were requisitioned as far away as Corbeil-Essonnes, apart from invited guests, less than 500 people turned out for the event, which means that Évry maybe holds the world record for the smallest crowd at a papal appearance.
In 2003, the socialist mayor, Manuel Valls, (born 13 August 1962, Barcelona, Spain) and who is also the constituency deputé (Member of Parliament) and a qualified avocat (barrister), finally embarked upon a massive safeguard plan designed to entirely renovate the more defavourised areas which includes much demolition of the obsolete 1960s buildings (especially in the "Pyramides" quarter, once the French equivalent of the Gorbals), and the upgrading of the more recent residential structures and schools. 2006 will see the final renovation of the Collège des Pyramides at the cost of 11.43M€ (the price of a new school) and will receive 571 pupils. In 2007, enlargement and renovation will begin on the Lycée des Loges. The work will last 3 years without interruption of lessons and the budget is set at 40M€.
On January 31, 2006, in the Sénat during the 14th ceremony of the "Prix du Trombinoscope 2005" (press awards), Manuel Valls was elected "Local Representative of the Year."
[edit] Demography
Evry is a very young town. The average age of the population is only 26 years. On the 4 September 2006, 6,400 children began a new academic year in the town's 42 schools which will shortly receive a renovation grant of 620,000€. (3,200 meals are served daily in the school canteens and the town has spent 96,000€ on classroom accessories. Not including teaching staff, 350 auxiliaries are employed looking after the 3-11 year old children.)
At the other end of the age span, Evry has only three residences for old folk and the cemetery, proportionally small compared to towns with similar a population figure, is closed to further inhumations. Burials are now carried out at the Garenne cemetery in nearby Courcouronnes where a crematorium has also recently been built.
[edit] Transport
Évry is served by three stations on Paris RER line D: Évry, Évry – Courcouronnes, and Le Bras-de-Fer.
[edit] Religious activity
Évry has the following religious edifices (in descending order of attendance):
- Mosque and Islamic Centre (second largest in France).
- Cathedral of the Resurrection (only cathedral to be built in Europe during the 20th century). [Évry Cathedral:[1]
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
- Evangelist Centre (Protestant).
- Parish church of St Peter & St Paul (extremely rare 12th century building oriented N/S instead of E/W). [Parish Church:[2]
- Synagogue
- Notre Dame de l'Esperance.
- Convent of Notre Dame de Sion
There is also a very strong presence of Jehovah's Witnesses in Évry with their Kingdom Hall in Ris Orangis.
The Grand Mosque of Évry is one of the largest in Western Europe, and is of Moroccan architecture. It has a large beautiful prayer room and can accommodate many hundreds of people. Islam in France is growing, and currently, there are around 5 million Muslims in France's 60 million general population. Évry presents a place of much multiculturalism, but nevertheless, problems can arise. The mosque was partly funded by the Morocaan King, and it stands proudly opposite the Cathedral, as a symbol of co-existence.
The Pagoda Khan-Anh will be the largest Pagoda in Europe. Construction began in 1996 and is expected to be completed in 2009. The statue of Buddha, 4 metres tall and weighing 5 tons, arrived from Thailand on the 20 October 2002. The pagoda will be the headquarters of the European Buddhist Congregation and will be a training school for future monks and nuns. It was planned that the Dalai Lama would consecrate the edifice on 12 July 2006, but his European tour was cancelled at the last minute on order of his doctors.
[edit] Political activity
The following political parties have a permanent base in Évry:
- Parti Communiste Français
- Parti Radical de Gauche
- Parti Socialiste
- UDF
- UMP
- Groupe des Verts
- Groupe "Défi pour Évry"
- Groupe "Nous, Citoyens d'Évry"
[edit] Miscellaneous
Towards the end of the war General Patton crossed the Seine with his tanks at Évry en route from Avranches going to the Ardennes where he fought the Battle of the Bulge. The anniversary of the liberation of Évry on the 23 August 1944, is celebrated annually at the Patton Memorial
Although Évry is a modern "new town," which is generally synonymous with "concrete jungle," 50% of its surface area is parkland and open space. The main thoroughfares are very wide avenues and trees are to be found everywhere. In the nationwide intercommunal competition "Ville Fleurie" (flowered town) Évry has been awarded the high status of "3 flowers," usually won by country villages. To encourage this aspect of the town an annual "Balcon Fleurie" (flowered balcony) competition is held. A similar balcony competition is held each December for the best exterior Christmas decorations.
Some people consider the modern cathedral as an architectural beauty while others liken the design to that of a blast furnace.
Évry is the home of the European space project Ariane, at the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES).
[edit] Twinnings
Évry is twinned with the London Borough of Bexley in England. This is because, originally, Évry was designed to be a predominantly management and executive class town. Today, however, Évry resembles Dagenham and has little in common with Bexley.
Évry is also twinned with Nowy Targ in Poland; Troisdorf in Germany; Esteli in Nicaragua; and Repentigny in Québec.
The Agglomération d'Évry has twinning pacts with Kayes in Mali; and the refugee camp of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip. (Maison du Monde, 509, Patio des Terrasses, Évry, sharing the address with a branch of Amnesty International).
The latest addition to the overseas contacts is a "parrainage" (godfather) pact with Bozovici in Romania.
[edit] English Speaking Expatriates
Banlieue towns of the Île de France tend to depend a lot on Paris for administration purposes and other facilities. The centre of Paris is also a haven for several English speaking nationalities and EU expatriates, however in outlying towns such as this one there isn't the network that caters for these groups.
Generally, via the internet, a look on services such as Yahoo Groups can yield a few useful resources with expat groups such as Live in France, English Speakers in France, Paris Sud or Webvivant. All of these can provide much needed advice and friendship to English speaking residents of the Île de France.
[edit] External links
- http://www.mairie-evry.fr/
- http://www.agglo-evry.fr
- http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pcf.evry/ (Evry branch communist party)
- http://www.echosdesquartiers.com (Pyramides/Bois Sauvage)
- University of Evry site
- http://catholique-evry.cef.fr (Cathedral and diocese)
- Blog on the town of Évry
Overseas departments
Cayenne (French Guiana) • Basse-Terre (Guadeloupe) • Fort-de-France (Martinique) • Saint-Denis (Réunion)
![[1]](http://perso.orange.fr/bernard.lecomte/cathedrale-evry/images/exterie2.jpg){kind=link}
![[2]](http://perso.orange.fr/bernard.lecomte/cathedrale-evry/images/stpierre.jpg){kind=link}