Brétigny-sur-Orge (, literally ''Brétigny on

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, ...

'') 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 southern 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 ...

, from the city

center Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

Origin of the city name

The name of the settlement is attested as ''Britiniacum'' in 1146, as ''Bretigniacum'' in 1548, and subsequently as Breteigny. The origins of ''Brétigny'' start in the era 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 ...

. The etymology comes from the Latin ''britiniacum'', which means "property of the Breton". The name certifies that this territory was during that period dedicated to a Breton, coming from (Great) Britain, during the period of Briton migration (6th century). Brétigny afterwards belonged to the royal estate of the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

kings (from the 5th century until the 8th century). At the time of the creation of the commune, the city name was spelled without any accent. This accent was added in 1801, and the name of the river ("on

") was added in 1898.

Geography

Climate

Brétigny-sur-Orge has a

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Brétigny-sur-Orge is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Brétigny-sur-Orge was on 25 July 2019; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 16 January 1985.

Transport

It is served by Brétigny station on Paris

RER line C RER C is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south. The li ...

. On 12 July 2013 an intercity train derailed shortly after 17.00, killing at least 6 people.

People

Inhabitants of Brétigny-sur-Orge are known as ''Brétignolais''. Notable Brétignolais include: * Cédric Collet, footballer, was born in Brétigny. He has played for the

Guadeloupe national football team The Guadeloupe football team (french: Sélection de la Guadeloupe de football) represents the French overseas department and region of Guadeloupe in men's international football. The team is controlled by the Ligue Guadeloupéenne de Football ( ...

. *

Cédric Baseya Cédric Baseya (born 19 December 1987) is a former professional footballer who played as a forward. Born in France, he made one appearance for the DR Congo U20 national team. Club career Baseya was born in Brétigny-sur-Orge, Essonne. He form ...

, footballer, was born in Brétigny. He has played for

Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a French association football club based in Le Havre, Normandy. The club was founded as an athletics and rugby club in 1872, making Le Havre AC the oldest professional French foo ...

and some English clubs, but is now a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. *

Antoine-Gaspard Boucher d'Argis ''Antoine-Gaspard Boucher d'Argis'' (3 April 1708 in Lyon – 25 January 1791 in Paris) was a French lawyer. Advisor to the Supreme Council of Dombes in 1753 then at the Grand Châtelet, Châtelet in Paris Boucher d'Argis wrote a number of legal t ...

, (1708-1791), lawyer and encyclopedist, lived in Brétigny in the Castle of la Fontaine. * Jean de Boishue (1943- ), politician. He was mayor of Brétigny. * Patrice Évra, football player, played for CS Brétigny from 1993 to 1997. *

Jérémy Ménez Jérémy Ménez (born 7 May 1987) is a French professional footballer who plays as a forward for Italian Serie B club Reggina. Ménez has been described as an ambipedal, technically skilled, pacy playmaker. Ménez began his career spending t ...

, football player, played for CS Brétigny from 2000 to 2001.

References

External links

Official website
*
Mayors of Essonne Association
Communes of Essonne {{Essonne-geo-stub