Arpajon () 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

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

region of northern

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 ...

. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arpajonnais'' or ''Arpajonnaises''. The commune has been awarded three flowers by the ''National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom'' in the ''Competition of cities and villages in Bloom''.

Geography

Location

Arpajon is the capital of a canton located in the Paris urban area in the heart of the department of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Hurepoix Hurepoix () is an area of the Île-de-France, to the southwest of Paris, situated between the departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine and Essonne. It was an old province of the French Kingdom and the main city was Dourdan. Geography This area i ...

some 31 km south 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 ...

( Notre-Dame - point zero for distances from Paris), 15 kilometres west of Évry, 14 km south of

Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Inhabitants of Palaiseau ar ...

, 6 km south of

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. Under the Merovingians, it was owned by the ...

, 14 km north-west of

La Ferté-Alais La Ferté-Alais () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is south of Paris. It used to be a fortress closing the access to the French royal estate from the Essonne valley, then became an industrial vill ...

, 19 km east of

Dourdan Dourdan () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France. It is the capital of the historical region of Hurepoix. It is located in the metropolitan area of Paris. Geography Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western Es ...

, 17 km west of

Corbeil-Essonnes Corbeil-Essonnes () on the River Seine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building ...

, 18 km north of

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring c ...

, and 26 km north-west of

Milly-la-Forêt Milly-la-Forêt () is a commune in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region in northern France. Geology The Forest of Fontainebleau, in the western end of which Milly-la-Forêt lies, is composed of the Oligocene Fontainebleau sands, ...

. The commune is also 410 km north of its

homonym In linguistics, homonyms are words which are homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of pronunciation), or homophones (equivocal words, that share the same pronunciation, regardless of spelling), or both. Using this definition, ...

Arpajon-sur-Cère Arpajon-sur-Cère (, literally ''Arpajon on Cère''; oc, Arpajon de Cera or just ) is a commune in the Cantal department in the Auvergne region of south-central France. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Arpajonnais'' or ''Arpajon ...

Cantal Cantal (; oc, Cantal or ) is a department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France, with its prefecture in Aurillac. Its other principal towns are Saint-Flour (the episcopal see) and Mauriac; its residents are known as Cantalians (fren ...

department., the original stronghold of the lords of the town. The commune consists of only 240

hectares The hectare (; SI symbol: ha) is a non-SI metric unit of area equal to a square with 100-metre sides (1 hm2), or 10,000 m2, and is primarily used in the measurement of land. There are 100 hectares in one square kilometre. An acre is ab ...

but it is the capital of Arpajonnais Country which extends from Breuillet in the east to Brétigny-sur-Orge in the west and from

Leuville-sur-Orge Leuville-sur-Orge (, literally ''Leuville on Orge'') is a commune south of Paris, France. It is situated in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region. Inhabitants of Leuville-sur-Orge are known as ''Leuvillois''. Geography Situated ...

in the north to

Cheptainville Cheptainville () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of Cheptainville are known as ''Cheptainvillois''. See also * Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 co ...

in the south. The relatively small size of the commune does not preclude a significant height differential from 89 to 47 metres altitude which causes a relatively large concentration of buildings on nearly 80% of the territory. Agricultural areas, which represent only 10% of the territory, are located in the extreme north-east of the commune along

Route nationale 20 The Route nationale 20 (N20) is a trunk road ( nationale) between Paris and the frontier with Spain heading south through the heart of France and passing through the Cathedral City of Orléans and Toulouse. The road forks at ''Col de Puymorens'' ...

Hydrography

Arpajon lies at the confluence of the ''Rémarde'' and the

Orge The Orge () is a long river in France, left tributary of the Seine. Its source is in the village Saint-Martin-de-Bréthencourt. Its course crosses the '' départements'' of Yvelines and Essonne. It flows northwest through the towns of Dourdan, ...

rivers which join then separate in the centre of the town to permanently join at the border with

Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon (, literally ''Saint-Germain near Arpajon'') is a commune in the Essonne department. It is a suburb of Paris located south of Paris via the N20, and north of Étampes. History * Corbinian founded a religious comm ...

. On the communal area the two rivers flow in parallel, the Rémarde coming from the west from Ollainville and, further south, the Orge comes from

Égly Égly () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France around 30 km (20 miles) south of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Égly are known as ''Aglatiens'' in French. See also *Communes of the Essonne departm ...

with both streams flowing towards the north-east.

Relief and geology

The city centre is in the Orge valley at an altitude of approximately 47 metres but the territory extending north and south rises rapidly to the Avrainville plateau in the south,

La Norville La Norville () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Inhabitants of La Norville are known as ''Norvillois''. See also *Communes of the Essonne department The following is a list of the 194 communes of ...

in the east, and the start of the

Linas Linas is a Lithuanian male given name. It is the Lithuanian form of the name Linus, which derives from the Greek for "flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is ...

hill to the north which means it is necessary to climb to exit the commune. The highest point in the commune at 89 metresGéoportail

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

is located north of the Butte-aux-Grès area near the

forest. Due to the low height of the town relative to the surroundings there are many television receiving antennae which are sometimes ten metres above the roofs. The territory lies on the boundary of the

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms whe ...

geological area of the Paris basin and the sand of the

Beauce Beauce may refer to: * Beauce, France, a natural region in northern France * Beaucé, a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department, Brittany, France * Beauce, Quebec, an historical and cultural region of Canada ** Beauce (electoral district), a fed ...

with, in the extreme north, the remains of

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates) ...

quarries.

Climate

Arpajon is located in

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

and enjoys an attenuated oceanic climate characterized by cold winters, warm summers, and rainfall evenly distributed over the year. The average temperatures recorded at the departmental station at Brétigny-sur-Orge (5 km north-east of Arpajon) came to 10.8 °C with average maximum and minimum of 15.2 °C and 6.4 °C. The actual maximum and minimum temperatures recorded are 24.5 °C in July and 0.7 °C in January with record temperatures of 38.2 °C on 1 July 1952 and -19.6 °C on 17 January 1985. The situation in the large suburbs of the commune leads to a lower

urban density Urban density is a term used in urban planning and urban design to refer to the number of people inhabiting a given urbanized area. As such it is to be distinguished from other measures of population density. Urban density is considered an import ...

than Paris with a negative difference of one to two degrees Celsius compared to Paris. Located near the Paris city centre and without the presence of large areas of culture, however, sunshine hours for the commune amounted to 1,798 annually as it is throughout the north of the department. With 598.3 millimeters of rainfall over the year and an approximate distribution of 50 mm per month, the town receives rainfall in the same proportion as other regions north of the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

. Weather Data for Brétigny-sur-Orge

Communication and transport

The main transport route for the commune is Route nationale 20 which has avoided the centre of town by a deviation west since 1956 and crosses Arpajon from north to south. The commune is also the point of convergence of three important departmental roads: the D116D that leads to

in the west, the D449 that leads to

in the south, and the D152 that leads to Brétigny-sur-Orge in the east and to

Limours Limours, often referred to as ''Limours-en-Hurepoix'' () is a commune the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. Geography Limours is located from Paris. Population Inhabitants of Limours are known as ''Limouriens'' in Frenc ...

in the west which is duplicated by the D97 which also goes to Limours. In addition there are the D192 which is a fast route through the Arpajon-Égly-Breuillet urban area and the D193 which connects to the D19. The commune is located four kilometres south of the

Francilienne The Francilienne () is a partially completed ring road in Île-de-France (the ''région'' that includes Paris), France, lying outside the A86. The planned ring road is approximately in diameter, similar in size to London's M25 motorway. Start ...

, a major regional axis that allows quick access to the

A10 autoroute The A10, also called L'Aquitaine, is an Autoroute in France, running for 549 km (341 mi) from the A6 south of Paris to the A630 at Bordeaux. It is the longest motorway in France. It generally parallels the N10 Route Nationale, but d ...

and

A6 autoroute The A6, also known as the Autoroute du Soleil, ''Motorway of the Sun'', (along with the A7), is an Autoroute in France, linking Paris to Lyon. The motorway starts at Paris's Porte d'Orléans and Porte d'Italie with two branches, numbered A6a a ...

. The Bretigny-Tours railway passes across the commune from west to east with Arpajon C4 RER station in the south of the commune served by two trains per hour. The town is also served by: *Albatrans bus network: **Route 91.04 to Évry *Daniel Meyer bus network: **Route DM151 to Paris-Porte d'Orléans 19 **Route DM153 to Massy-Palaiseau **Route DM19 to Brétigny-sur-Orge 20 **Route DM20 to Arpajonnais Country between Égly and Norville 21 . *Ormont bus network: **Route 68.01 to Bruyeres-le-Chatel **Route 68.05 to Boissy-sous-Saint-Yon 22, 23 . *Savac bus network: **Route 39.18 to Limours-en-Hurepoix 24 . *CEAT bus network: **Route 10.20 from Paris to Angerville **Route 10.21 from Paris to Méréville There are also some shuttle buses providing free transport in the commune with some dedicated to the elderly.

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly an ...

is located 18 kilometres away and accessible by Route nationale 20.

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

is located 51 km away. For general aviation the Étampes - Mondésir Aerodrome (

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...

: LFOX) is 27 kilometres away.

Localities, places, and areas

The commune is not extensive so it does not any division into districts. Nevertheless, it is possible to distinguish the city centre, the railway station area, and the Cerpied Mill. In the north, nearby, is a place called ''La Montagne'' in reference to the slope to get there from the city centre and, in the extreme north, there is the former Folies quarter which has now become the business district of Butte-aux-Grès. A second business area, Les Belles-Vues, is reminiscent of the once agricultural character of the commune.

Toponymy

The

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

s placed a

castrum In the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a po ...

to monitor the passage of along the

between ''Lutèce'' and

Cenabum Cenabum, Cenabaum or Genabum was the name of an ''oppidum'' of the Carnutes tribe, situated on the site of what is now Orléans. It was a prosperous commercial city on the river Loire at the time of Caesar's conquest of Gaul. History This port ...

. The castrum became ''Chastres'' around the year 250 then ''Châtres'' (sometimes ''Châtres-sous-Montlhery'') in the 17th century with the reform of spelling and the appearance of the

circumflex The circumflex () is a diacritic in the Latin and Greek scripts that is also used in the written forms of many languages and in various romanization and transcription schemes. It received its English name from la, circumflexus "bent around"a ...

in place of the silent "s". ''Chastres'' could also mean "land of rivers" in "the barbarian language". In 1720 Louis de Severac, who was from the Arpajon family of

Rouergue Rouergue (; ) is a former province of France, corresponding roughly with the modern department of Aveyron. Its historical capital is Rodez. It is bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan ...

bought the

marquisate A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman w ...

of Châtres. He obtained the privilege of giving his name to the city from the

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

Philippe d'Orléans and he called it ''Arpajon'', spreading the use of the name by beating the peasants who had the misfortune to answer ''Châtres'' to the question "where do you reside?". In 1794

Philippe de Noailles Philippe de Noailles, comte de Noailles and later prince de Poix, duc de Mouchy, and duc de Poix ''à brevêt'' (27 December 1715 in Paris27 June 1794 in Paris), was a younger brother of Louis de Noailles, and a more distinguished soldier than his ...

and his wife

Anne d'Arpajon Anne, alternatively spelled Ann, is a form of the Latin female given name Anna. This in turn is a representation of the Hebrew Hannah, which means 'favour' or 'grace'. Related names include Annie. Anne is sometimes used as a male name in the ...

, first lady of honour to

Marie-Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child ...

, were guillotined. In 1793 the commune took the name of ''Franc-val'' or ''Franeval'' but returned to Arpajon in 1801. Similar to

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

and

Arles Arles (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Arle ; Classical la, Arelate) is a coastal city and commune in the South of France, a subprefecture in the Bouches-du-Rhône department of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region, in the former province of ...

the preposition "in" is not used. "A residence at Arpajon" is correct while "a residence in Arpajonnais" is also correct usage.

History

Origins

At the time of

Roman Gaul Roman Gaul refers to GaulThe territory of Gaul roughly corresponds to modern-day France, Belgium and Luxembourg, and adjacient parts of the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany. under provincial rule in the Roman Empire from the 1st century ...

there was a castrum was installed at the intersection of the road from ''Lutèce'' to

and the river

in the valley that was the territory of the Parisii tribe. The discovery in 1960 of the remains, which included a Gallo-Roman cemetery, certify this ancient occupation. The evolution of the name to ''Chastres'' is sometimes dated to the year 250. Two megalithic monuments remain: one in the Library Park and the other near the Rémarde river an inscription in Gallic was found in 1947 and is kept in the Municipal Museum of Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

From Chastres to Arpajon

In the 10th century the first church was built in the village but it was quickly ruined. In 1006 the rebuilding of the church and steeple was entrusted to the

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monks of the Abbey of Saint-Maur by

Renaud de Vendôme Renaud Pierre Manuel Séchan (), known as Renaud (), born 11 May 1952, is a French singer, songwriter and actor. His characteristically 'broken' voice makes for a very distinctive vocal style. Several of his songs are popular classics in F ...

bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Parisiensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Paris'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France ...

and it was consecrated to

Pope Clement I Pope Clement I ( la, Clemens Romanus; Greek: grc, Κλήμης Ῥώμης, Klēmēs Rōmēs) ( – 99 AD) was bishop of Rome in the late first century AD. He is listed by Irenaeus and Tertullian as the bishop of Rome, holding office from 88 AD t ...

. They added a

cloister A cloister (from Latin ''claustrum'', "enclosure") is a covered walk, open gallery, or open arcade running along the walls of buildings and forming a quadrangle or garth. The attachment of a cloister to a cathedral or church, commonly against a ...

, a

priory A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of mon ...

, and a

tithe barn A tithe barn was a type of barn used in much of northern Europe in the Middle Ages for storing rents and tithe A tithe (; from Old English: ''teogoþa'' "tenth") is a one-tenth part of something, paid as a contribution to a religious orga ...

. A document dated 1265 attests to the presence of a Hotel-Dieu at Arpajon for the accommodation of travelers and the poor. There were also several mills on the Orge and the Rémarde. The town was fortified and had five entrances. In 1317 Pierre de Chastres was buried in the parish church. In 1360, during the

Hundred Years War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, the city was besieged by King

Edward III Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring r ...

of England and the church where there were eight hundred refugees was burned leaving no survivors. Arpajon Halles 700

In 1470 the lordship of Chastres belonged to the lord of

Marcoussis Marcoussis () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Marcoussis is the location of the CNR (National Centre of Rugby) where the French national rugby union team prepare for internationa ...

. In July 1470 King

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

authorised two fair days at Chastres for his counselor and chamberlain Jean du Graville by letters patent. Louis Malet de Graville built a Market hall at the crossroads of the Paris to Étampes and Dourdan to Corbeil roads. In 1510 the monks, through the generosity of the Graville and Montagu families undertook major renovations of the church and in 1542 a sub-delegation of Chastres was attached to the ''Generality of Paris''. In 1545 the lordship of Chastres became independent. In 1643 the bell named ''Antoinette'' was cast. On 28 April 1652

Turenne Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...

stationed his troops at Châtres to protect the court at Saint-Germain before he marched on

on 3 May. In 1717 the Hotel-Dieu was completely rebuilt. In 1720 Louis de Severac, Marquis of Arpajon from the great medieval family of Arpajon, bought and obtained from Philippe d'Orléans the privilege of giving his name to the commune. However, the adoption of the new name took a long time and peasants who refused to abandon the name of Châtres were beaten up. He also promised to reduce local taxes for two years. The

Canting arms Canting arms are heraldic bearings that represent the bearer's name (or, less often, some attribute or function) in a visual pun or rebus. French heralds used the term (), as they would sound out the name of the armiger. Many armorial allus ...

of the city come from this family. In 1733 he knocked down the old city gate in the north which was too narrow for many carts and instead erected two

Pilaster In classical architecture Classical architecture usually denotes architecture which is more or less consciously derived from the principles of Greek and Roman architecture of classical antiquity, or sometimes even more specifically, from the ...

s which are the current ''Porte de Paris''. He died on 21 August 1736 and was buried in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

of the parish church.

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 ...
and growth

In 1782

Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin ( April 17, 1790) was an American polymath who was active as a writer, scientist, inventor, statesman, diplomat, printer, publisher, and political philosopher. Encyclopædia Britannica, Wood, 2021 Among the leading inte ...

installed a

lightning rod A lightning rod or lightning conductor (British English) is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. If lightning hits the structure, it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducte ...

on the spire of the Church of Saint Clement. At the Revolution the town chose to adopt the name of ''Francval''. There was a custom to give the name of the place of baptism as a second or third name: thus a boy was named Francval in year II. Philippe de Noailles was lord of Arpajon and he was long in great favour at court with his wife being first lady of honour to

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

, nicknamed by her Madame

Etiquette Etiquette () is the set of norms of personal behaviour in polite society, usually occurring in the form of an ethical code of the expected and accepted social behaviours that accord with the conventions and norms observed and practised by a ...

. This Court favour brought down punishment in the days of the Revolution and the old marshal and his wife were guillotined on 27 June 1794. The castle was sold in 1802 and demolished. In 1800 the Canton of Arpajon was created then attached to the Arrondissement of Corbeil in the department of

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and

Empress Josephine An emperor (from la, imperator, via fro, empereor) is a monarch, and usually the sovereign ruler of an empire or another type of imperial realm. Empress, the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife ( empress consort), mother ( e ...

visited the town and made offering at the high altar of the church. In 1833 a large Post and Telegraph office was opened. PagodeTonkinoiseArpajon

In 1851 the Martin brothers, originating from

Limoges Limoges (, , ; oc, Lemòtges, locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region ...

, set up a shoe factory which, in 1900, employed 450 adults and about 50 children. It was bought by ''André shoes'' in 1920 and closed its doors forever in 1956. In 1868 the commune built a

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

for use instead of the feudal castle. Then, in 1889, it bought the

Pagoda A pagoda is an Asian tiered tower with multiple eaves common to Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Myanmar, Vietnam, and other parts of Asia. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most often Buddhist but sometimes Taoist, ...

that was presented by

Tonkin Tonkin, also spelled ''Tongkin'', ''Tonquin'' or ''Tongking'', is an exonym referring to the northern region of Vietnam. During the 17th and 18th centuries, this term referred to the domain '' Đàng Ngoài'' under Trịnh lords' control, includ ...

during the Universal Exhibition of Paris. In the same year the ''Compagnie de chemin de fer sur route de Paris à Arpajon'' (Railway Company for the Paris to Arpajon route) which in 1893 opened the Porte d'Orléans-Antony and Antony-Longjumeau-Montlhery sections then the Montlhery-Arpajon section in 1894 for passengers. In the surrounding villages of

, and

market garden A market garden is the relatively small-scale production of fruits, vegetables and flowers as cash crops, frequently sold directly to consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or uses purchased goods, products, or s ...

ing was very important and from 1911 to 1936 led to expansion of the railway to transport tomatoes, strawberries, and beans grown in the fields to the Paris markets. In the second half of the 19th century the ''Boulevard de la Gare'' was opened with the inauguration of the railway station in 1865 and the construction of holiday villas. ;Modernisation of Arpajon in the 19th century Image:ARPAJON - La Gare.JPG, Arpajon railway station at the beginning of the 20th century. Image:ARPAJON - Station des Tramways.jpg, The Arpajonnais tramway station behind Arpajon railway station was used at the beginning of the 20th century by the CGB. Image:Arpajonhalle1920.jpg, The covered market at the beginning of the 19th century.

Modern History

In 1922 the first ''Bean Fair'' was inaugurated which was classified as a national fair in 1970. On 6 July 1924 on the long, straight

Route nationale A ''route nationale'', or simply ''nationale'', is a class of trunk road in France. They are important roads of national significance which cross broad portions of the French territory, in contrast to departmental or communal roads which serve m ...

20 between Arpajon and Torfou, René Thomas set a land speed record of in a Delage called ''La Torpille'' (The Torpedo) followed, on 12 July 1924, by Ernest A.D. Eldridge who increased the record to in a Fiat Special called ''Mephistopheles II''. In 1934 the Hôtel-Dieu became a hospice as a result of the construction of the first hospital outside the town. On 22 August 1944 the commune was liberated by the Leclerc division. In 1948 Abel Cornaton, mayor of the commune, endowed the ''municipal showers'' which became the district court in 1985. On 23 April 1977 Arpajon was on the path of the ''Tour cycliste de l'Essonne''. On 1 January 1968, after the breakup of Seine-et-Oise department, Arpajon was integrated into the new French department of

Essonne Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

in 1999 before a journey of 143 kilometres to Paris .

Heraldry

Politics and Administration

Local politics

Arpajon is the chief town of the canton represented by the general counsel Christian Béraud ( PS), mayor of the commune. It is attached to the third electoral district of Essonne and represented by MP Michel Pouzol (PS). Its current mayor is Christian Beraud (PS) who is assisted by eight deputy mayors chosen from a municipal council of 29 elected members. INSEE has assigned the code 91 3 01 021 41. Arpajon commune is recorded in the register of companies under the code SIREN 219 100 211. Its activity is registered under code APE 8411Z. In 2009 the commune had a budget of €16,504,000 of which €11,359,000 was Operational and €5,145,000 investment, of which 34.85% is funded by local taxes. Municipal debt in the same year was €487,000. In 2009 the tax rate was 11.78% for the residential tax, 14.74% Developed Property tax, 46.78% for undeveloped property, and 15.09% for the business tax fixed by the inter-communality. The commune has a communal social welfare centre and, in 2017, had 942

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.communauté d'agglomération Cœur d'Essonne Communauté d'agglomération Cœur d'Essonne (also: ''Cœur d'Essonne Agglomération'') is an agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community, an communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunal structure, centred on the Communes of ...

which includes 21 communes, and is responsible for economic development, town planning and roads, social housing policy, sports, culture and early childhood, collection and treatment of garbage, and welcoming travelers. It also is a member of the Joint Association of the valley of the Orge (SIVOA) with 32 other communes for the preservation and enhancement of the environment. List of Successive Mayors ;Mayors from 1938

Political tendencies

Politics in Arpajon in recent years have been characterized by ambivalent results which frequently follow national trends. The commune, which has sometimes been rightist, swung to a narrow lead in 2001 for the left with the election of Pascal Fournier (Socialist) who was elected in the first round in 2008 with 77.29% of the vote. In fact, local elections (cantonal or regional) have always been won by the left except for the partial cantonal elections in 2004 resulting in only 50.87% for Philippe Le Fol (DVD). Conversely, and always in accordance with the national results, the elections of 2002 and 2007, as with the presidential elections in 2002 and 2007, were largely won by the parliamentary right. In 2002 the result for

Jean-Marie Le Pen Jean Louis Marie Le Pen (, born 20 June 1928) is a French far-right politician who served as President of the National Front from 1972 to 2011. He also served as Honorary President of the National Front from 2011 to 2015. Le Pen graduated fro ...

(18.20%) was higher in Arpajon as compared to the national (17.79%) and the departmental (15.04%) figures. Similarly, Arpajon voters followed the national movement during the European elections in 2004 where the left was ahead of the right but at the referendum on the Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe the "no" won.

Education

Arpajon schools are attached to the ''Academy of Versailles''. The commune has the ''Édouard-Herriot'' primary school, the ''Anatole France'' and ''La Rémarde'' kindergartens, and the ''Victor Hugo'' elementary school. In addition there is the private Catholic Sainte-Jeanne d'Arc school in the Diocese. Strangely the town does not have a college and students attend the Jean Moulin and Albert Camus colleges in the neighbouring commune of

or the Roland Garros college in

. Because of its status as capital of the canton, however, there are three higher schools, the Edmond Michelet general and technological school which provides training in BTS IRIS., the René-Cassin general and technological which had an 88% pass-rate for the baccalauréat in 2007, and the Paul Belmondo professional school. The premises of the hospital centre is also a training centre for caregivers. An information and referral center is present in the commune. Recreation centres cater for children outside school hours and two crèches welcome young children. The CIPF is present in the town.

Health

The commune has a hospital with a capacity of 302 beds, offering services such as:

Surgery Surgery ''cheirourgikē'' (composed of χείρ, "hand", and ἔργον, "work"), via la, chirurgiae, meaning "hand work". is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a person to investigate or treat a pat ...

Obstetrics Obstetrics is the field of study concentrated on pregnancy, childbirth and the postpartum period. As a medical specialty, obstetrics is combined with gynecology under the discipline known as obstetrics and gynecology (OB/GYN), which is a surgi ...

Pediatrics Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until th ...

Gastroenterology Gastroenterology (from the Greek gastḗr- “belly”, -énteron “intestine”, and -logía "study of") is the branch of medicine focused on the digestive system and its disorders. The digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract ...

, Diabetology,

Cardiology Cardiology () is a branch of medicine that deals with disorders of the heart and the cardiovascular system. The field includes medical diagnosis and treatment of congenital heart defects, coronary artery disease, heart failure, valvular heart d ...

Pneumology Pulmonology (, , from Latin ''pulmō, -ōnis'' "lung" and the Greek suffix "study of"), pneumology (, built on Greek πνεύμων "lung") or pneumonology () is a medical specialty that deals with diseases involving the respiratory tract. ...

, and

Radiography Radiography is an imaging technique using X-rays, gamma rays, or similar ionizing radiation and non-ionizing radiation to view the internal form of an object. Applications of radiography include medical radiography ("diagnostic" and "therapeut ...

. An ambulance service supplemented by a mobile emergency and resuscitation service is active for 42 neighbouring communes. The centre is spread over four sites: the central hospital, the rehabilitation centre in the neighbouring commune of Égly, and the ''Village du Pays'' retirement homes at Châtres and Guinchard, the latter hosting Alzheimer day patients. A family planning centre and a maternal and child healthcare centre are located in the commune. The private hospital of Paris-Essonne, formerly the Charmilles Clinic, completes the offering with 60 beds, a surgery, and a specialization in pathologies of the face:

ophthalmology Ophthalmology ( ) is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the diagnosis and treatment of eye disorders. An ophthalmologist is a physician who undergoes subspecialty training in medical and surgical eye care. Following a medic ...

, oto-rhino-laryngology, and

dentistry Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...

. In the town there are 47 doctors and 12 dentists are in private practice. There also 4 pharmacies.

Public services

Security in the commune is ensured by the presence of a police commisariat as well as a fire and rescue centre. Public service bodies are relatively numerous in Arpajon which has a postal agency an Employment office and ASSEDICs, a Treasury and Tax centre a family allowance office a primary health insurance office, and a subdivision of the DDE. Two notarial offices, a bailiff's office, and two lawyers attached to the

bar Bar or BAR may refer to: Food and drink * Bar (establishment), selling alcoholic beverages * Candy bar * Chocolate bar Science and technology * Bar (river morphology), a deposit of sediment * Bar (tropical cyclone), a layer of cloud * Bar (u ...

of Évry is located in the town. From 1985 to 2009 a Registry of the District Court was installed in the town. Before the reform of the justice system the commune had a District Court but now depends on the one at

Longjumeau Longjumeau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' (). History Longjumeau Party School In 1911, Lenin founded the Longjumeau ...

, as with the Labour Court, the High Court, and the Commerce Court at Évry which are all attached to the Court of Appeal of Paris.

Twinning

Arpajon has twinning associations with: *

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the ...

(Germany) since 1990.

Demography

Arpajon has seen demographic evolution of a town now part of the Paris Urban Area. From 1,988 inhabitants in Arpajon counted in the first census of 1793, the population grew slowly until the first demographic accident in 1846 when the population dropped to 2,017 and a second more important one in 1856 when it dropped to 1,890. Thereafter the demography increased up to 2,822 in 1872 to relatively stabilize before a new sustained growth after of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

with 3,221 in 1921. The population increased again after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

despite the 139 civilian and military casualties from both conflicts. After the construction of large housing estates the population reached 4,550 people in 1954, 8,105 in 1975 and 9,668 in the 2006 census. In 1999 10.8% of Arpajon people were foreigners and 14% of households consisted of single-parent families or 2 percent more for each category compared to the departmental figures. Among the foreign population, 3.4% were from Portugal, 1.6% from Morocco and Turkey, 1.3% from Algeria, 0.3% from Tunisia, and 0.2% for Spain and Italy. In 2017 the commune had 10,378 inhabitants.

Distribution of Age Groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Arpajon and Essonne Department in 2017 Source: INSEEÉvolution et structure de la population en 2017: Commune d'Arpajon (91021)
/ref>

Economy

As the capital of Arpajonnais and a historic land of market gardening, the commune has long been a place of trade and known for its fair since the 13th century. It has now lost the agricultural role (only three farms remain) and commerce favours other communes in the Canton. It remains, however, with a town centre with plenty of shops gathered around a merchants association. More than six hundred businesses are located in the commune with nearly a third of these shops. In 2004 52 new businesses were created in the commune. Two industrial areas include most of the other businesses: the Belles-Vues and the Butte-aux-Grès, both located in the north of the commune along Route nationale 20. Arpajon is grouped into the labour pool (''zone d'emploi'') of

Saclay Saclay () is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It had a population of 3,067 in 2006. It is best known for the large scientific facility CEA Saclay, mostly dealing with nuclear and pa ...

by INSEE. In 2017 the Arpajon workforce was 5,365 people divided into 28.2% of employees, 27.0% of middle management, and 21.3% of workers. There were three people employed in agriculture. On the same date 10.3% of the active population was unemployed and only 18.7% worked in the commune.Dossier complet, Commune d'Arpajon (91021)
on the INSEE website, consulted on 1 September 2020 With 800 employees, the hospital is the largest employer, followed distantly by the family allowance office (300 staff), the René-Cassin School, and the municipality itself with 200 employees each. A market is held in the covered market every Friday morning.

Employment, income and standard of living

In 2017 the median income in the town stood at 20,700 euros, but 41% of the population was not liable for the income tax. 57.9% of main residences in Arpajon were rented, including 19.6% in

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and sites that are registered as historical monuments: *The War Memorial 1914-1918 at Avenue de la Division Leclerc (20th century) *The Municipal Showers (1947) *The Town Hall (1868). The Town Hall contains several items that are registered as historical objects: **A Clock (19th century) **A set of 4 light fittings (20th century) **A set of 3 Chandeliers (20th century) **A Hearth (2) (19th century) **A Hearth (1) (19th century) **A Bust: Marianne (20th century) **A Mural Painting: The communal genius presiding over great acts of civil life (1870) *The Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Antoine and Saint-Sulpice (19th century). was founded in the 12th century to house pilgrims on the road to Saint Jacques de Compostela and became a hospital under the Revolution. It was completely rebuilt from 1819 to 1852 and is still used as a retirement home 120 . Adds the hall built in 1868 121 enhanced by the place de l'Hôtel-de-Ville in 1776 and refurbished in 1868 ranked since 1944 122 . The Hôtel-Dieu contains two items that are registered as historical objects: **A Bell called Marie (1517) **A Painting: Rest during the flight from Egypt (19th century) *An Ornamental Garden (19th century)Ministry of Culture, Mérimée *A

Lavoir A lavoir (wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by laun ...

(Public laundry) (1748) *The Town Hall Square (Place de la Mairie) (1776) *The War Memorial at Place de la Mairie (20th century) *The Porte de Paris city gate (1730) *The Railway Station (19th century) *The Covered Market (1470). The covered market is 35 metres long and 18 metres wide. *Arpajon Town (16th-20th century) In addition there are a very large number of houses that are registered as historical monuments.

Religious heritage

The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: *The Tomb of A. Paragot and A. Servant (19th century) *The Tomb of the Buard-Lanelongue family (19th century) *The Funeral Chapel of the Anglade-Debauge family (20th century) *The Tomb of Eugène Lagauche (1906) *The Tomb of the Betrouille-Dupouet family (19th century) *The Funeral Chapel of the Laperche family (20th century) *The Tomb of Cécile Guinchard and Jean Georges Lainé (19th century) *The Parish Church of Saint-Clement (11th century). The church contains a very large number of items that are registered as historical objects. ;Stained Glass in the Church of Saint-Clement File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 674.JPG, The Church of Saint Clement File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 676.JPG File:Arpajon-St-Clément-nef-.jpg, The Nave File:Arpajon-St-Clément-choeur.jpg, The Choir File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 255.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 684.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 678.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 686.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 694.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 685.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 689.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 691.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 248.JPG File:Arpajon Saint-Clément 250.JPG

Environmental heritage

Although 80% of the communal area is urban there are still some parks and public gardens. The oldest, at 4 rue Henri Barbusse, was created in the 19th century. Five other parks adorn the city: Chevrier Park, Freising Park, 100 Grande Rue Park, Théophile Guesdon Park, and Rémarde Park. The banks of the Rémarde and the Orge are still mostly natural. This environmental heritage has allowed Arpajon to be rewarded by three flowers in the competition of cities and villages in Bloom since 2008. The north-west of the commune still has cultural areas recalling the agricultural character of the town that specialised in market gardening.

Daily life in Arpajon

Culture

For cultural events the commune has the Francval Exhibition Hall. The cinema is popular and has five theatres which sometimes show Arthouse films. There is a school of music and dance and a library in the old chateau stables. There are many associations working for the promotion and dissemination of culture.

Sports

The relatively small size of the commune does not allow it to have any important sports infrastructure. Two stadia are nearby: Gaston-Cornu at Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon and Louis Babin at La Norville. La Norville also has a

swimming pool A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, paddling pool, or simply pool, is a structure designed to hold water to enable Human swimming, swimming or other leisure activities. Pools can be built into the ground (in-ground pools) or built ...

. There are 19 associations in the commune. Arpajon town was traversed by the ''Tour cycliste de l'Essonne'' in 1977 and was a stage city for the 1999

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

. As well as the Bean Fair the commune also organises a hiking rally and a bicycle race.

Festivities

There are two main events each year at Arpajon: *The Carnival of Bineau, in which a representation of the steward is burned in Châtres Square, takes place every year on the first Sunday of March. *The Foire aux haricots (The Bean Festival) started in 1922 and was recognised as a national fair in 1970. It is a trade and crafts event which is held every third weekend in September over 4 days in memory of the market gardening that there was in the commune in the past. The bean celebrated here is the ''chevrier''. There are other national events such as the

Fête de la Musique The Fête de la Musique, also known in English as Music Day, Make Music Day or World Music Day, is an annual music celebration that takes place on 21 June. On Music Day, citizens and residents are urged to play music outside in their neighborho ...

(Festival of Music) which are celebrated in the commune.

Places of Worship

Arpajon Catholic parish is part of the

Diocese of Évry-Corbeil-Essonnes In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associat ...

and the deanery of Trois-Vallées-Arpajon. The church is dedicated to

. There is a Protestant evangelical church in the commune. Other denominations do not have a place of worship in the commune.

Media

The ''Cœur Essonne'' (Heart of Essonne) edition of the weekly ''Le Républicain'' contains local information on Arpajon. Despite its enclosed location geographically, the commune lies in the transmission area of

France 3 France 3 () is a French free-to-air public television channel and part of the France Télévisions group, which also includes France 2, France 4, France 5 and France Info. It is made up of a network of regional television services providing ...

Paris Île-de-France Centre, IDF1, and Télévision Île-de-France (Télif).

Arpajon in arts and culture

The proximity of Paris and the nearby presence of film studios at Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon has meant that Arpajon has appeared in various films: *In 1960 the covered market and the Porte de Paris appeared in '' Le Président'' by

Henri Verneuil Henri Verneuil (; born Ashot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was a French-Armenian playwright and filmmaker, who made a successful career in France. He was nominated for Oscar and Palme d'Or awards, and won Locarno International ...

*In 1962 the Thirion shop appeared in ''La Vie à la française'' (French Life) *In 1966 the commune appeared in ''Paris brûle-t-il ?'' (Is Paris burning?) by

René Clément René Clément (; 18 March 1913 – 17 March 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter. Life and career Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed hi ...

The action of the film ''3 zéros'' (Shooting Stars) by

Fabien Onteniente Fabien Onteniente (born 27 April 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. Filmography * 1989 : '' Bobby et l'aspirateur'' (short film) * 1992 : ''À la vitesse d'un cheval au galop'' * 1995 : '' Tom est tout seul'' * 1996 : '' Le Tu ...

released in 2002 137 takes place in Arpajon, but only one scene is set there:

Ticky Holgado Ticky Holgado (24 June 1944, in Toulouse – 22 January 2004, in Paris), pseudonym of Joseph Holgado, was a French actor and a frequent collaborator with Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With ''Delicatessen'' (1991) by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and Marc Caro, Tic ...

toured the market place by bicycle. There is a legend that the name ''Bineau'' of a carnivalesque character recalls a steward who was granted a ''

Droit du seigneur ('right of the lord'), also known as ('right of the first night'), was a supposed legal right in medieval Europe, allowing feudal lords to have sexual relations with subordinate women, in particular, on the wedding nights of the women. A maj ...

'' on the ladies of the village and was burned alive as punishment.

Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly , ; born Honoré Balzac;Jean-Louis Dega, La vie prodigieuse de Bernard-François Balssa, père d'Honoré de Balzac : Aux sources historiques de La Comédie humaine, Rodez, Subervie, 1998, 665 p. 20 May 179 ...

located part of his novel ''Un début dans la vie'' (A start in life) in Arpajon: "As for Mr. Serisy, he did not emigrate during the Revolution, he went to his Serizy land at Arpajon, where the respect that he had from his father saved him from all evil" The character of a "Countess of Arpajon" appears in the work ''À la recherche du temps perdu'' (In Search of Lost Time) by

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

in the volumes ''

Sodome et Gomorrhe ''In Search of Lost Time'' (french: À la recherche du temps perdu), first translated into English as ''Remembrance of Things Past'', and sometimes referred to in French as ''La Recherche'' (''The Search''), is a novel in seven volumes by French ...

'' (Sodom and Gomorrah) and '' Le Temps retrouvé'' (Time Regained). The ''Chevrier'' bean is also called the bean of Arpajon.

Notable people linked to the commune

Saint Corbinian Saint Corbinian ( la, Corbinianus; french: Corbinien; german: Korbinian; 670 – 8 September c. 730 AD) was a Frankish bishop. After living as a hermit near Chartres for fourteen years, he made a pilgrimage to Rome. Pope Gregory II sent him to ...

(680-730),

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

and Catholic

Saint In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...

lived there. *René Liger (?-1801), Priest and

pamphlet A pamphlet is an unbound book (that is, without a hard cover or binding). Pamphlets may consist of a single sheet of paper that is printed on both sides and folded in half, in thirds, or in fourths, called a ''leaflet'' or it may consist of a ...

iste lived there. *Louis Bérard (1783-1859), politician and was the MP for there. *

Félix Potin Félix Potin is the name of a French businessman and his eponymous mass-distribution retail business, founded in the mid-nineteenth century. While the business was bought out and then collapsed in the second half of the twentieth century, the b ...

(1820-1871), businessman, was born there. *Charles Truche (1870-1951), microbiologist, discovered an anti-

pneumococcal ''Streptococcus pneumoniae'', or pneumococcus, is a Gram-positive, spherical bacteria, alpha-hemolytic (under aerobic conditions) or beta-hemolytic (under anaerobic conditions), aerotolerant anaerobic member of the genus Streptococcus. They are ...

serum and a method of culture that bears his name (milieu T), pioneer of

avian influenza Avian influenza, known informally as avian flu or bird flu, is a variety of influenza caused by viruses adapted to birds.

, was born and buried in the commune. *Louis Babin (8 August 1889 – 15 December 1941), doctor and

radiologist Radiology ( ) is the medical discipline that uses medical imaging to diagnose diseases and guide their treatment, within the bodies of humans and other animals. It began with radiography (which is why its name has a root referring to radiatio ...

. Denounced the Germans as

communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...

. He was shot with 8 others at ''Camp de Choisel''.Louis Babin (deceased)
*Louis Namy (1908-1987), politician and municipal councilor, died in the commune. *

Camille Danguillaume Camille Danguillaume (4 June 1919 – 26 June 1950) was a French cyclist. He won Liège–Bastogne–Liège in 1949. He rode in the 1947, 1948 and 1949 Tour de France. He died of a fracture to the temporal bone four days after colliding ...

(1919-1950), racing cyclist, died in the commune. *

David Galula David Galula (10 January 191911 May 1967) was a French military officer and scholar who was influential in developing the theory and practice of counterinsurgency warfare. Early life Born in Sfax, then part of the French protectorate of Tunisia ...

(1919-1967),

Lieutenant-colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colonel. ...

, died in the commune. * François-Alexandre Galepide called ''Moustache'' (1929-1987), musician and comedian, died in the commune. *

Joël Robuchon Joël Robuchon (, 7 April 1945 – 6 August 2018) was a French chef and restaurateur. He was named "Chef of the Century" by the guide Gault Millau in 1989, and awarded the Meilleur Ouvrier de France (France's best worker) in cuisine in 1976. ...

(1945-), famous chef, received the Gold Medal of the City of Arpajon in 1966. *

René Fontaine Jacques Noe René Fontaine (November 5, 1933 – March 17, 2012) was a politician in Ontario, Canada. He was a Ontario Liberal Party, Liberal member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1985 to 1990, and was a cabinet minister in the ...

(1946-), chocolatier, worked sometimes at Arpajon. * François-Michel Gonnot (1949-), politician, born in the commune. *

Wadeck Stanczak Wadek Jean André Stanczak (born 30 November 1961) is a French actor. He appeared in more than thirty films since 1984. His parents were immigrants from Poland. Selected filmography Awards * César Award for Most Promising Actor The Césa ...

(1961-), actor, born in the commune. *

Emmanuel Collard Emmanuel Collard (born 3 April 1971) is a French professional racing driver. He is a former member of the Porsche Junioren factory team, but also drives for other marques. Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Collard is the winner of the Le Mans Serie ...

(1971-), racing driver, born in the commune. *

Sébastien Hamel Sébastien Hamel (born 20 November 1975) is a French former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Career Monaco Born in Arpajon, Essonne, Hamel started his career at AS Monaco as a trainee in 1991 before turning professional in 1 ...

(1975-), footballer, born in the commune. *Bruce Grannec (1986-), professional eSports player, born in the commune. *Louis Abel Cornaton (?-?) is considered a personality of the commune and was mayor from 1944 to 1983.