The 408 (French: ''les quatre-cents huit'') is a sector of
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
. Like
Planoise
Planoise () is an urban area in the western part of Besançon, France, built in the 1960s between the hill of Planoise and the district of Hauts-de-Chazal. It is the most populous district of Besançon, with 21,000 inhabitants (17% of the tota ...
and
Clairs-Soleils, The 408 has a notoriety for crime. It is sometimes viewed as a sub-sector of
Grette The Grette is a little area of Besançon, located near the center of the city.
Etymology
The name "Grette" comes from the verb "gratter", meaning "to scrape" and refers to the removal of stones from the ground before it can be cultivated.
Histo ...
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Etymology
The name "Grette" takes its name from the French verb "''gratter''", meaning to scrape at the Earth and remove the rocks in order to cultivate the land.
History
The first mention of the neighborhood comes from 1544 as "Gratte sous Chamdianne" (Grette sous Chaudanne).
From 1959 to 1962 the 408 was built, its name given by the population of Besançon to label the three apartment blocks, of which the first two amounted to 408 apartments, before the construction of the third was completed. The third block brought the total number to 588, however, "The 408" stuck. In 1968 the street near to The 408 was widened into a boulevard, to be called the ''Boulevard de la Grette''. It is now known as the ''Avenue François-Mitterrand'', and connects Planoise through the 408 to the city center.
References
Areas of Besançon
fr:Grette
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