La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern 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. Si ...

, France. It is located from

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.

Name

The city used to be part of the neighbouring city of Colombes. At this time, before 1910, it was called "La Garenne de Colombes," which means "Colombes' Garenne." "Garenne" is French for "warren." So the English for "La Garenne-Colombes" could be "Colombes' warren" or "Warren of Colombes"; yet to speakers of all languages the name of the city is officially "La Garenne-Colombes." The explanation for the city being called "warren" is that it used to be a warren where people would hunt. But this dates back to the French monarchy, in the 18th century and before.

Geography

La Garenne-Colombes is usually simply called "La Garenne", and nicknamed "petit Neuilly".

Surroundings

Four towns surround La Garenne-Colombes:

Colombes Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2019, Colombes was the 53rd largest city in France. Name The name Colombes comes from Latin ''columna'' (Old French ''colombe'' ...

(North),

Bois-Colombes Bois-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population of 28,239. International companies such as Colgate-Palmolive, IBM and Aviva have their French head ...

(East),

Courbevoie Courbevoie () is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is in the suburbs of the city of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Pa ...

(South) and

Nanterre Nanterre (, ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris. It is located some northwest of the centre of Paris. In 2018, the commune had a population of 96,807. The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering t ...

(West). The city is quite small compared with the other cities in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a département in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the east, Val-d'Oise to the north, Yvelines to the west ...

, it is more or less as small as the first arrondissement of

. Very close to La Garenne-Colombes are

La Défense La Défense () is a major business district in France, located west of the city limits of Paris. It is part of the Paris metropolitan area in the Île-de-France region, located in the department of Hauts-de-Seine in the communes of Courbev ...

and the Île de la Jatte island (Bowl Island).

Transportation

La Garenne-Colombes is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line: La Garenne-Colombes and Les Vallées (this last station is located at the border between the commune of La Garenne-Colombes and the commune of

, with a postal address in La Garenne-Colombes). The train has been used there since 1837. The two stations directly join Paris's most important urban station (

Gare Saint-Lazare The Gare Saint-Lazare (English: St Lazarus station), officially Paris-Saint-Lazare, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It serves train services toward Normandy, northwest of Paris, along the Paris–Le Hav ...

) in 10 minutes and the largest university in Paris (Paris Ouest La Défense University, Western Paris University La Défense) in 2 minutes. In 1935, five Tramway lines crossed La Garenne-Colombes. Many RATP Bus lines also cross the city: lines 73, 161, 163, 164, 176, 178, 262, 272, 278, 358 and 378. Two RATP

Noctilien Noctilien is the night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration. It is managed by the Île-de-France Mobilités (formerly the STIF), the Île-de-France regional public transit authority, and operated by RATP (with 32 lines) and Transilien SNC ...

night Bus lines cross the city: N24 and N152. In 2012, the line 2 of the Parisian Tramway will cross La Garenne-Colombes, with two stations: Les Fauvelles (French for Wildcats) and Charlebourg. To join the center of the CBD, 2 to 4 minutes will be required by tramway.

History

It was named in 1240 as "La Garenne dépendant de Colombes" ("La Garenne depending on

"). After the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * Ab ...

in 1815, the estate was bought by

Peter Urban Sartoris Peter Urbanus Sartoris (alias Pierre-Urbain Sartoris in French or Urbain Sartoris) was a Swiss banker, born around 1767 in Geneva, who died in Paris November 30, 1833. He had offices in London and Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine as well. Biography The ...

, a Genevois banker who had lived in London for many years. On his death in 1833 it was inherited by his 6 children, who urbanised it and named the rue Sartoris. They sold the last of their interests in 1865. The commune of La Garenne-Colombes was created on 2 May 1910 by detaching its territory from the commune of

Demography

As the commune's territory is entirely built up, population can only grow if buildings are demolished and replaced by bigger buildings for more people (higher, less gardens). Thereby the population will grow certainly over the 30,000 after many reconstructions in the "Champs-Philippe" neighbourhood, with a density over 17,000 inhabitants per square kilometres (43,855 inhabitants per square miles). According to statistics, La Garenne-Colombes is an average city of the

department (

region), which is one of the richest places in Europe.

Economy

The landscape looks like an American CBD (Central Business District). But this is in the suburbs of

, which do not look like the downtown Paris districts surrounding the Eiffel Tower or the Champs-Elysées. Paradoxically, the most advanced part of the city of Paris, geographically speaking, is on the outskirts of the city itself. There used to be many workshops in La Garenne-Colombes, as in a large part of the

department. Today, it is mainly a residential city. However, some 1200 business units are there.

Tertiary activity

The service industry is paramount in the economy of La Garenne-Colombes. The proximity of

increases this phenomenon. There is : *

Peugeot Peugeot (, , ) is a French brand of automobiles owned by Stellantis. The family business that preceded the current Peugeot companies was founded in 1810, with a steel foundry that soon started making hand tools and kitchen equipment, and then ...

study offices * Boston Scientific International * RATP's Charlebourg center The arrival of the Tramway in 2012 resulted in a redevelopment of a part of the city, and should bring a new breath of life to the local economy.

Urbanism

The city

In spite of the proximity of

and

which has applied a strong pressure, no big buildings were built in La Garenne. Residential buildings (detached homes and apartment buildings) account for the majority of the building stock in La Garenne-Colombes. Many of these buildings were constructed in the early 1900s. In a large part of the town, new construction is limited to 4 floors. The neighbourhood of the place de Belgique and National boulevard, which is the entry of

, is being redeveloped.

Green ways

Eight green ways are in La Garenne-Colombes, exactly: * two public squares * two gardens * four parks

Commonly known places

* Place de la Liberté (Freedom square), known under the name of place du marché (market) or place de l'Eglise (church) * Place du Général Leclerc, known under the name of place de la Fontaine (Fountain plaza) * Place de Belgique (Belgium square) * Rond-point du Souvenir français, known under the name of place Jean Baillet * Rond-point de l'Europe (Europe's plaza)

Politics and administration

List of mayors

* 1910-1933: Jean Bonal * 1934-1943: Docteur Charles Jubert * 1944: Maurice Godaux * 1944-1945: André Crimet * 1945-1947: Gaston Sourrisseau * 1947-1955: Louis Jean * 1955-1971: René Guest * 1971-1975: Albert Fabbi * 1975-2001: Max Catrin * 2001–2022: Philippe Juvin * since 2022: Monique Raimbault

Twin towns - sister cities

La Garenne-Colombes is twinned with: * Wangen im Allgäu, Germany * Yokneam Illit, Israel * Harissa-Daraoun, Lebanon * Valpaços, Portugal

Education

The commune has four public preschools and five public elementary schoolsLes écoles communales
" La Garenne-Colombes. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. * Primary schools: René Guest, André Marsault, Ernest Renan (built in 1905), Sainte Geneviève, Sagot Voltaire * Junior high school: Les Vallées * Junior high school: Champs-Philippe (previously named Kleber Haedens, the name was revoked by the Hauts-de-Seine general council due to Haedens having been a nazi

collaborationist Wartime collaboration is cooperation with the enemy against one's country of citizenship in wartime, and in the words of historian Gerhard Hirschfeld, "is as old as war and the occupation of foreign territory". The term ''collaborator'' dates to ...

) * Vocational senior high school: Lycée La Tournelle Students wishing to attend a general high school may go to Lycée Albert-Camus in

or Lycée Paul-Lapie in

.Lycées
" La Garenne-Colombes. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. "Les jeunes Garennois sont rattachés à deux lycées d'enseignement général, situés l'un à Courbevoie (Lycée Paul-Lapie), l'autre à Bois-Colombes (Lycée Albert-Camus)." The city owns a castle in Normandy where students are sometimes sent for class-holidays.

Life in La Garenne-Colombes

According to statistics published by the Figaro newspaper, La Garenne-Colombes is the

's city with the lowest crime rate, without forgetting that the

is a very quiet part of the

region.

Personalities

Born in La Garenne-Colombes

* Guy-Elphege Anouman (1994), athlete *

Patrick Chesnais Patrick Chesnais (born 18 March 1947) is a French actor, film director and screenwriter. Life and career Patrick Chesnais was born in La Garenne-Colombes, Hauts-de-Seine. He was educated at the '' Lycée Pierre Corneille'' in Rouen. In 1989 ...

(1947), French actor * Émilie Lepennec (1987), French gymnast *

Fernand Oury Fernand Oury (18 January 1920 – 19 February 1998) was a pedagogue and creator of institutional pedagogy. He recommended and practiced a "school of the people" methodology, in which children were no longer passive receivers, but actively parti ...

(1920), French

pedagogue Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and creator of modern French schooling *

Catherine Picard Catherine Picard (born 14 August 1952) is a French politician and anti-cultist from the French Socialist Party. She was a member of the French National Assembly from 1997 to 2002. Career Picard was elected on 1 June 1997 for the French Sociali ...

(1952), French politician *

Steven Nzonzi Steven Nkemboanza Mike Christopher Nzonzi (born 15 December 1988) is a French professional footballer who is currently a free agent Nzonzi began his career with Ligue 2 side Amiens, impressing enough to earn a move to Premier League side Blackb ...

(1988), French

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

player

Lived in La Garenne-Colombes

* William Klein, American painter, film-maker and photographer * Cédric Mongongu, Footballer *

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping (22 August 1904 – 19 February 1997) was a Chinese revolutionary leader, military commander and statesman who served as the paramount leader of the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) from December 1978 to November 1989. Aft ...

, Chinese political leader

Died in La Garenne-Colombes

* Jean Mitry (1907–1988), French film theorist,

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Garennecolombes Communes of Hauts-de-Seine