Argenteuil () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the northwestern suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the

Val-d'Oise Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a department in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the second most populous commune in the suburbs of Paris (after

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

) and the most populous one in the Val-d'Oise department, although it is not its prefecture, which is shared between the communes of

Cergy Cergy () is a Communes of France, commune in the French Departments of France, department of Val-d'Oise, in northwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the Kilometre Zero#France, centre of Paris, in the "new town#France, new town" of Cerg ...

and

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''dépa ...

. Argenteuil shares borders with communes in 3 departements others than ''Val d'Oise'' : the

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

and

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...

departements.

Name

The name Argenteuil is recorded for the first time in a royal

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

of 697 as ''Argentoialum'', from a

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

Gaulish Gaulish was an ancient Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium ...

root ''argento'' meaning "silver", "silvery", "shiny", perhaps in reference to the gleaming surface of the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

, on the banks of which Argenteuil is located, and from a

Gaulish language Gaulish was an ancient Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, most of Switzer ...

suffix ''-ialo'' meaning "clearing, glade" or "place of".

History

Argenteuil was founded as a

convent A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

in the 7th century (see

Pierre Abélard Peter Abelard (; french: link=no, Pierre Abélard; la, Petrus Abaelardus or ''Abailardus''; 21 April 1142) was a medieval French scholastic philosopher, leading logician, theologian, poet, composer and musician. This source has a detailed desc ...

and the Convent of Argenteuil). The

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

that arose from the convent was later destroyed during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. A rural escape for Parisians, it is now a suburb of Paris. Painters made Argenteuil famous, including

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...

Gustave Caillebotte Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early ...

Alfred Sisley Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...

and

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

Transport

Argenteuil is served by two stations on the

Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris and serve the north and north-west of Île-de-France region with Transilien ...

suburban rail line, which are

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

and Val d'Argenteuil. Since redeveloped by STIF and SNCF, Argenteuil has been equipped with the new Paris-Saint-Lazare-Ermont-Eaubonne line. The new line was launched in 2006, adding the Paris-Saint Lazare / Cormeilles-en-Parisis - Pontoise / Mantes-la-Jolie service to Paris for about ten minutes. By Bus* : 361 Gare d'Argenteuil à Gare de Pierrefitte - Stains RER; 140 Gare d'Argenteuil - Asnières-Gennevilliers - Gabriel Péri; 164 Argenteuil - Claude Monet College - Porte de Champerret; By train* : Gare d'Argenteuil (SNCF-J): Paris Saint-Lazare in 15 minutes and Colombes in 4 minutes Gare Saint-Gratien (T-8): Porte Maillot in 22 minutes Épinay Orgemont (T-8): Gare Saint-Denis in 20 minutes Travel by car: City centre: 10 minutes; Paris Saint-Lazare: 25 minutes La Défense: 20 minutes; Colombes: 10 minutes; la Plaine-Saint-Denis: 18 minutes; Porte de Clichy: 15 minutes;

Education

, the commune's schools have over 12,000 students. The commune has:établissements scolaires
" Argenteuil. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. "Plus de 12 000 élèves prennent le chemin de l’école tous les matins." * 30 public preschools (''maternelles'') and one private elementary school with a preschool * 26 public and 2 private elementary schools * 11 junior high schools (''collèges'') - 10 public and 1 private * 6 senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: ** Lycée Georges Braque **

Lycée Cognacq-Jay In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

** Lycée Julie-Victoire Daubié ** Lycée Jean Jaurès **

Lycée Fernand et Nadia Léger In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

** Ecole nationale des professions de l'automobile (private)

Paris 13 University Sorbonne Paris North University (french: Université Sorbonne Paris Nord) is a public university based in Paris, France. It is one of the thirteen universities that succeeded the University of Paris in 1968. It is a multidisciplinary university l ...

serves as the area university. The Conservatoire à rayonnement départemental de Musique, Danse et Théâtre is located in Argenteuil. André Bon is one of its former students.

Population

Immigration

Twin towns – sister cities

Argenteuil is twinned with: *

Alessandria Alessandria (; pms, Lissandria ) is a city and ''comune'' in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, about east of Turin. Alessandria ...

, Italy *

Dessau-Roßlau Dessau-Roßlau () is a '' kreisfreie Stadt'' (urban district) in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is situated at the confluence of the rivers Elbe and Mulde. The town was formed by merger of the towns of Dessau and Roßlau in the course of t ...

, Germany *

Hunedoara Hunedoara (; german: Eisenmarkt; hu, Vajdahunyad ) is a municipiu, city in Hunedoara County, Transylvania, Romania. It is located in southwestern Transylvania near the Poiana Ruscă Mountains, and administers five villages: Boș (''Bós''), Groș ...

, Romania *

West Dunbartonshire West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter town ...

, Scotland, United Kingdom

Notable people

Héloïse Héloïse (; c. 1100–01? – 16 May 1163–64?), variously Héloïse d'ArgenteuilCharrier, Charlotte. Heloise Dans L'histoire Et Dans la Legende. Librairie Ancienne Honore Champion Quai Malaquais, VI, Paris, 1933 or Héloïse du Paraclet, wa ...

(c. 1100/01 – 1163/64), nun, philosopher and writer * Charles Longuet (1839–1903, journalist and socialist activist *

(1840–1926), painter, lived and worked here in 1871–1878 *

(1882–1963), painter, sculptor and co-founder of

cubism Cubism is an early-20th-century avant-garde art movement that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture. In Cubist artwork, objects are analyzed, broken up and reassemble ...

Sidney Duteil Sidney Duteil (born Patrick Duteil in 1955), better known as Sidney, is a French musician, rapper, DJ, television and radio host, and occasional actor of Guadeloupean origin. Duteil was born in Argenteuil, Val-d'Oise. He is well known in France ...

(born 1955), musician and television host *

Ingrid Chauvin Ingrid Chauvin (; born 3 October 1973) is a French television and stage actress, known for her roles in the miniseries ''Méditerranée'', ''Dolmen'', and the police procedural series ''Femmes de loi''. Early life and career Ingrid Chauvin was ...

(born 1971), actress *

Franck Béria Franck Béria (born 23 May 1983) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. He works as a director of professional football at Lille. Club career At the end of the 2016–17 season, Béria ended his career as a playe ...

(born 1983), footballer and functionary * Ibrahim Gary (born 1985), karateka * Fabien Ateba (born 1991), basketball player *

Kevin Mayer Kevin Mayer (, or , born 10 February 1992) is a French Sport of athletics, athlete. He is two-time world champion (2017 World Championships in Athletics – Men's decathlon, 2017, 2022 World Athletics Championships – Men's decathlon, 2022), ...

(born 1992), athlete, Olympic medalist * Cécile Pelous, philanthropist and designer

Famous paintings of Argenteuil

Claude Monet - Springtime - Google Art Project

*By Claude Monet: ''Autumn at Argenteuil'', ''Regatta at Argenteuil'', ''Red Boats, Argenteuil'', ''The Bridge at Argenteuil'', ''The Port at Argenteuil'', '' The Seine at Argenteuil'', ''View of Argenteuil-Snow'', '' Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil'', and ''Snow at Argenteuil''. And ’’Train in snow at Argenteuil’’. *By other painters: ''

'' and ''Seine near Argenteuil'' by

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

, ''Regatta at Argenteuil'' by

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...

, and ''The Bridge in Argenteuil'' by

Gallery

Claude Monet - The Seine at Argenteuil 1873.jpg, Claude Monet, '' The Seine at Argenteuil'', 1873 Pierre-Auguste Renoir 083.jpg, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, ''

Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil ''Claude Monet Painting in His Garden at Argenteuil'' is an 1873 Impressionist painting by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. See also * List of paintings by Pierre-Auguste Renoir * '' The Improvised Field Hospital'', 1865 painting by Frédéric Bazille ...

'', 1873 Edouard Manet 058.jpg, Édouard Manet, ''The Seine near Argenteuil'', 1874 La Seine à Argenteuil.jpg, Claude Monet, ''The Seine at Argenteuil'', 1874 Manet, Edouard - Argenteuil, 1875.jpg, Édouard Manet, ''Argenteuil'', 1875 Bords de la Seine a Argenteuil - Monet.jpg, Claude Monet, '' Bords de la Seine à Argenteuil'', 1875