Montrouge () is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located from the centre 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. ...

. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years.

History

The name "Montrouge" means Red Mountain - from ''mont'' (mountain) and ''rouge'' (red) - because of the reddish colour of the earth in this area. The name of the community was first mentioned in monastery documents in 1194. Throughout the Middle Ages, the hamlet was home to monasteries and a number of religious orders, while in the 15th century it became the site of quarries used for the reconstruction of Paris. The late sixteenth century saw the plain of Montrouge named "reserve for royal hunts", and during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was known for its

windmill A windmill is a structure that converts wind power into rotational energy using vanes called sails or blades, specifically to mill grain (gristmills), but the term is also extended to windpumps, wind turbines, and other applications, in so ...

s, which have all now disappeared. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, most of the commune of Montrouge was annexed to Paris, forming what is now called Petit-Montrouge, in the

14th arrondissement The 14th arrondissement of Paris ( ), officially named ''arrondissement de l'Observatoire'' (; meaning "arrondissement of the Observatory", after the Paris Observatory), is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. It is situ ...

of Paris. The remainder of Montrouge was preserved as an independent town. In 1875, the town gained a few thousand square metres from the neighbouring communes of Châtillon and Bagneux (principally in the neighbourhood (''le quartier'') called Haut Mesnil). On 8 January 2015,

Municipal Police Municipal police, city police, or local police are law enforcement agencies that are under the control of local government. This includes the municipal government, where it is the smallest administrative subdivision. They receive fundin ...

officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot and killed in the commune, purportedly by Amedy Coulibaly. Coulibaly was reported to be an accomplice of Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the suspected perpetrators of the ''Charlie Hebdo'' shooting. The next day, he was gunned down by police during a siege that left four hostages dead and several other people injured.

Population

Economy

Industrial development started in 1925 and soon, many printing factories were to be found in the town. Most of these have disappeared today. Since the early years of the twenty-first century, professional services and telecommunications have been the main business activities. * Aeronautical and electronic engineering,

Alstom Alstom SA is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer operating worldwide in rail transport markets, active in the fields of passenger transportation, signalling, and locomotives, with products including the AGV, TGV, Eurostar, Av ...

Schlumberger Schlumberger Limited (), doing business as SLB, is an oilfield services company. Schlumberger has four principal executive offices located in Paris, Houston, London, and The Hague. Schlumberger is the world's largest offshore drilling comp ...

Siemens AG Siemens AG ( ) is a German multinational conglomerate corporation and the largest industrial manufacturing company in Europe headquartered in Munich with branch offices abroad. The principal divisions of the corporation are ''Industry'', ''E ...

, ST Microelectronics * Banking, Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank * Telecommunications,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower * Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum ...

* The Papier d'Arménie (lit. Armenian Paper)

Public transport

Montrouge is served by Mairie de Montrouge and

Barbara Barbara may refer to: People * Barbara (given name) * Barbara (painter) (1915–2002), pseudonym of Olga Biglieri, Italian futurist painter * Barbara (singer) (1930–1997), French singer * Barbara Popović (born 2000), also known mononymously as ...

stations on Paris Métro Line 4, and by Châtillon – Montrouge station on

Paris Métro Line 13 Paris Métro Line 13 (opened as Line B; French: ''Ligne 13 du métro de Paris'') is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro. It was built by the Nord-Sud Company before becoming Line 13 when the Nord-Sud was merged into the Compagnie du ch ...

. The Châtillon - Montrouge station is located at the border between the commune of Montrouge and the commune of Châtillon, on the Châtillon side of the border. The Barbara station is located at the border between the commune of Montrouge and the commune of Bagneux. The Mairie de Montrouge station opened in March 2013, with the further extension of Line 4 opening to Bagneux–Lucie Aubrac in January 2022. Bus line 68 runs from Metro Châtillon Montrouge all the way up through

Montparnasse Montparnasse () is an area in the south of Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, left bank of the river Seine, centred at the crossroads of the Boulevard du Montparnasse and the Rue de Rennes, between the Rue de Rennes and boulevard Raspail. Montpar ...

, the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the ''Venus de Milo''. A central l ...

, the

Paris Opera The Paris Opera (, ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be k ...

and ends at the Place de Clichy, the site of the Moulin Rouge. Bus line 126 runs from Porte d'Orléans to

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department an ...

, while line 128 goes from the same place to Robinson RER station. Bus line 323 runs on the southern border of Montrouge on its way between

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called ''Isséens'' in French. It is one of Paris' entrances and is located from Notre-Dame Cath ...

and Ivry-sur-Seine. Several lines (187, 188, 197, 297) use the Route nationale 20 that crosses eastern Montrouge to reach southern parts of the Parisian agglomeration.

The Arts in Montrouge

Montrouge was the home of a number of well-known twentieth century artists, listed below. Currently the town is also well known for two contemporary art exhibitions: *The Montrouge Contemporary Art Show, which has existed for over 50 years *The JCE, that is European Young Artists exhibition.

Education

Montrouge has seven public primary schools: Aristide Briand, Buffalo, François Rabelais, Nicolas Boileau, Raymond Queneau, Renaudel A, and Renaudel B.Les écoles du primaire
" Montrouge. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. Public junior high schools: Haut Mesnil, Maurice Genevoix, Robert Doisneau.
" Montrouge. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. Public high schools: Lycée Jean Monnet,

Lycée Maurice Genevoix 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 ...

. There is a private secondary school,

Groupe Scolaire du Haut-Mesnil A group is a military unit or a military formation that is most often associated with military aviation. Air and aviation groups The terms group and wing differ significantly from one country to another, as well as between different branches o ...

Notable people

Escalier du Beffroi de Montrouge, France

* Émile Boutroux (1845–1921), philosopher and member of the

Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...

* Robert Brasillach (1909–1945) French author and journalist. * Émile Chatelain (1851–1933), Latinist and palaeographer * Coluche (b. 1944 in Paris–1986) (Michel Collucci), comedian and sometime political figure, founder of the "

Restos du cœur ''Restos'' is a 2012 film directed by Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, written by Alfonso Pineda Ulloa, Blas Valdez and Ernesto Walker and starring Leonardo Sbaraglia, Ilse Salas and Manolo Cardona. Cast * Leonardo Sbaraglia as Daniel * Ilse Salas as Ele ...

" soup kitchens. * Robert Doisneau (1912–1994), photographer, born in Gentilly, lived in Montrouge from 1937 until his death. * Raymond Federman (1928-2009) American novelist and academic. *

Jean-Jacques Goldman Jean-Jacques Goldman (; born 11 October 1951) is a French singer-songwriter and music record producer. He is hugely popular in the French-speaking world. Since the death of Johnny Hallyday in 2017 he has been the highest grossing living French ...

(b. 1951), lyricist and singer, he has lived most of his life in Montrouge, but now resides in

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Fran ...

. *

William Grover-Williams William Charles Frederick Grover-Williams (born William Charles Frederick Grover, 16 January 1903 – 18 March 1945 (or shortly thereafter)), also known as "W Williams", was a British Grand Prix motor racing driver and special agent who worked ...

(1903–1945), racing driver and

Special Operations Executive The Special Operations Executive (SOE) was a secret British World War II organisation. It was officially formed on 22 July 1940 under Minister of Economic Warfare Hugh Dalton, from the amalgamation of three existing secret organisations. Its pu ...

agent. * Octave Lapize (1887–1917), winner of the 1910

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 consist ...

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually modified into a more figurative, po ...

(1881-1955) lived in Montrouge and ran a painting school there. *

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

(1881–1973), the cubist, had his workshop in Montrouge from 1916 to 1918. *

Bernard Pivot Bernard Pivot (; born 5 May 1935) is a French journalist, interviewer and host of cultural television programmes. He was chairman of the Académie Goncourt from 2014 to 2020. Biography Pivot was born in Lyon, the son of two grocers. During Wor ...

(b. 1935), journalist and television personality. Born in

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

, Mr. Pivot has lived in Montrouge since 2003. * Claude Sautet (1924–2000), director and screenwriter. * Nicolas de Staël (1914–55) is buried in Montrouge Cemetery.

Personalities associated with the commune

* Amaury-Duval (1808-1885) a student of Ingres including ''Portrait d'Isaure Chassériau'' in 1838 * Harry Baur, Montrouge 1880 – Paris 1943, actor * Edouard Boubat, (1923-30 June 1999 in Montrouge), photographer * Alexandre Boutique (1851-1923), novelist * Émile Boutroux (1845-1921), philosopher and member of the

. * Gérard Brach (23 July 1927 in Montrouge - 9 September 2006 in Paris), screenwriter * Jean-Roger Caussimon 24 July 1918 in Montrouge - 20 October 1985 in Paris, actor, poet, and libertarian songwriter. * Pierre Collet (1914 Montrouge, 1977 in Paris), actor * Pierre Colombier, film director, died 25 January 1958. * Michel Colucci ( Coluche) (1944-1986), humorist. Born in Paris, spent his youth in the city. *

Jean-Claude Deret Jean-Claude Deret, born Claude Breitman, (July 11, 1921 – December 12, 2016) was a French television writer, songwriter, actor, playwright and author of children's books and detective novels. Early life Jean-Claude Deret was born as Claude ...

(1921-), né Breitman, author, screenwriter, actor, director * Robert Doisneau (1912-1994), photographer. Born in Gentilly, settled in Montrouge in 1937 * Jacques Dynam (30 December 1923 in Montrouge - 11 November 2004 in Paris), real name Jacques Barbé, actor * Raymond Federman (1928-2009), American writer, born in Montrouge *

Carole Gaessler Carole Gaessler (born 23 February 1968) is a French television journalist. Since September 2010 she has presented the Monday to Thursday editions of ''19/20'', the main evening news bulletin of France 3. Biography After a preparatory literature ...

, journalist for

France 2 France 2 () is a French public national television channel. It is part of the state-owned France Télévisions group, along with France 3, France 4 and France 5. France Télévisions also participates in Arte and Euronews. Since 3:20 CET on ...

and France 5 *

Théophile Gautier Pierre Jules Théophile Gautier ( , ; 30 August 1811 – 23 October 1872) was a French poet, dramatist, novelist, journalist, and art and literary critic. While an ardent defender of Romanticism, Gautier's work is difficult to classify and rem ...

is supposed to have lived on avenue Verdier * Jean Giraud (Moebius) (1938-2012), cartoonist and scenarist *

, (1951- ), songwriter and singer. Born in Paris, lives now in Marseille *

Piotr Kowalski Piotr Kowalski (2 March 1927 – 7 January 2004) was a Polish artist, sculptor, and architect. Kowalski worked in non-traditional materials including electronic and mechanical devices, neon art, large earth works, explosions and other natural phe ...

(1927-2004) * Octave Lapize (1887-1917), cyclist *

Virginie Ledoyen Virginie Fernández (born 15 November 1976), known by her stage name Virginie Ledoyen (), is a French actress who has appeared in French, British and American films. Life and career Ledoyen was born in Aubervilliers, the daughter of Olga, a re ...

, actress living in Montrouge since 2003 *

René Metge René Metge (born 23 October 1941 in Montrouge, France) is a professional rally driver from France. He won the Dakar Rally three times (in Dakar Rally 1981, 1981, Dakar Rally 1984, 1984 and Dakar Rally 1986, 1986). Career Metge began his career ...

, (23 October 1941 in Montrouge * Ariane Mnouchkine, theatre director, lives in Montrouge. *

(1881-1973), lived at 22 rue Victor Hugo in 1916 * Jules Pillevesse (1837–1903), composer and conductor died in the commune *

(1935-), journalist. Born in

, lived in the city from 2003 to 2007. * Raoul Pugno (1852-1914), born in Montrouge, composer and pianist * François Roy, actor and film score composer * Claude Sautet (1924-2000), screenwriter and film director born in Montrouge *

Évelyne Sullerot Évelyne Sullerot (née Hammel; 10 October 1924 – 31 March 2017) was a French feminist. She was the author of many feminist books. Early life Évelyne Sullerot was born on 10 October 1924 in Montrouge, France. She was raised in a Protestant ...

(1924-2017), famous for her feminist militantism * Valentine Tessier (1892- 1981), actress, spent her youth in Montrouge * Atiq Rahimi,

prix Goncourt The Prix Goncourt (french: Le prix Goncourt, , ''The Goncourt Prize'') is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward o ...

2008, lives in Montrouge

Others

* Fort de Montrouge, one of the 16 forts built around Paris in the 1840s, located mainly in the commune of

Arcueil Arcueil () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Name The name Arcueil was recorded for the fi ...

References

External links

Montrouge official website
{{Authority control Communes of Hauts-de-Seine