Fontenay-sous-Bois () 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 eastern 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.

Name

The name Fontenay was recorded in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the springs", from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

''fontana'' ("natural spring"). The commune was known alternatively as ''Fontenay-les-Bois'' (meaning "Fontenay by the woods"), ''Fontenay-sur-le-Bois'' (meaning "Fontenay over the wood"), or Fontenay-sous-Bois (meaning "Fontenay under wood"), but eventually in the early 19th century the latter name of Fontenay-sous-Bois became the only name. The wood referred to in the name of the commune is the

Bois de Vincennes The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III. The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of the King ...

History

In 1929, the commune of Fontenay-sous-Bois lost more than a third of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the

, a large part of which belonged to Fontenay-sous-Bois.

Fountain

The Rosettes fountain was lost during World War II. Years later, it was found by chance in a market in the South of France; the town of Fontenay-sous-Bois recovered it, and re-installed it in the place where it can be seen today.

Transport

Fontenay-sous-Bois is served by

Fontenay-sous-Bois station Fontenay-sous-Bois is a railway station on RER train network in Fontenay-sous-Bois, Val-de-Marne, France. History Fontenay-sous-Bois station used to be served by the Bastille railway line ( Paris Bastille – Marles-en-Brie), which ran from ...

on Paris RER line A. It is also served by

Val de Fontenay station The Réseau Express Régional, RER station Val de Fontenay is in the Paris suburb Fontenay-sous-Bois. It is on the Paris-Est–Mulhouse-Ville railway and provides an interchange between the RER lines A and E. In the future, Paris Metro Line 15, ...

, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line A and RER line E.

Education

The commune has eleven preschools, eleven elementary schools, one junior high school, two CES junior high schools, one senior high school/sixth-form college, and one LEP. Collège Victor Duruy and Lycée Pablo Picasso are the main secondary schools.

Demographics

Immigration

Personalities

Claude Le Péron Claude Le Péron (2 February 1948 – 24 June 2020) was a French bass guitarist known for his collaboration with Jean-Jacques Goldman among other musicians. Biography He started playing guitar in 1961, then started the bass guitar in 1964. No ...

bass guitarist A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low bra ...

* Noe Pamarot, footballer *

Blaise Matuidi Blaise Matuidi (born 9 April 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He most notably played for Paris Saint-Germain, Juventus, and the France national team. Matuidi began his football career playing for ...

, footballer *

Georges Jouve Georges Jouve was an important ceramist of the 20th century. He was born in 1910 in Fontenay-sous-Bois and his parents were both decorators. At 17 years old, Jouve enrolled at the prestigious Ecole Boulle in Paris where he received theoretical inst ...

, ceramist *

Natasha Nice Natasha (russian: Наташа) is a name of Slavic origin. The Slavic name is the diminutive form of Natalia. Notable people * Natasha, the subject of '' Natasha's Story'', a 1994 nonfiction book * Natasha Aguilar (1970–2016), Costa Rican s ...

, Porn Star * Gambi, rapper * Stanislav Tyshchenko, prominent steel construction engineer *

Jean-François Voguet Jean-François Voguet (8 August 1949 – 2 February 2021) was a French politician. He was a member of the Senate of France from 2004–2011, representing the Val-de-Marne department. He was also a member of the Communist, Republican, and Cit ...

, mayor from 2001 to 2014, ordered the expulsion of people living in a house belonging to the city. The mayor is now part of the few PCF mayors who practice the expulsion of

squatters Squatting is the action of occupying an abandoned or unoccupied area of land or a building, usually residential, that the squatter does not own, rent or otherwise have lawful permission to use. The United Nations estimated in 2003 that there ...

Interesting facts

In 2015 a street in

Brovary Brovary ( uk, Бровари, , yi, בראָוואַר, Brovar) is a city in Kyiv Oblast (Region) in northern Ukraine, an eastern suburb of the country's capital, Kyiv. It is the administrative centre of Brovary Raion (district). Brovary h ...

Ukraine Ukraine ( uk, Україна, Ukraïna, ) is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the second-largest European country after Russia, which it borders to the east and northeast. Ukraine covers approximately . Prior to the ongoing Russian inv ...

was named after its sister city Fontenay-sous-Bois.Рішення від 25.12.2015 № 52-04-07 «Про перейменування вулиць та провулків м. Бровари»

. Brovary City Council. 28.12.2015

Views

File:Halles_Roublot_Fontenay.jpg, Roublot Market File:Place_General_Leclerc_Fontenay.jpg, Place Général Leclerc File:Eglise_Saint_Germain_L_Auxerrois_Fontenay.jpg, Church of St Germain l'Auxerrois File:Rue_du_Centre_Fontenay.jpg, a street in Fontenay-sous-Bois

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fontenaysousbois Communes of Val-de-Marne