Descartes () is a large village and commune in the

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.department in central

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is approximately 29 kilometers east of Richelieu and about 48 kilometers east of Loudun, on the banks of the

Creuse Creuse (; or ) is a department in central France named after the river Creuse. After Lozère, it is the second least populated department in France. It is bordered by Indre and Cher to the north, Allier and Puy-de-Dôme to the east, Cor ...

River, near the border of the French department of

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

, and the border of the region between

Centre-Val de Loire Centre-Val de Loire (; ,In isolation, ''Centre'' is pronounced . ) or Centre Region (, ), as it was known until 2015, is one of the eighteen Regions of France, administrative regions of France. It straddles the middle Loire Valley in the interior ...

and

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

. It is famous for the birthplace of the French mathematician and philosopher who invented the

Cartesian coordinate system In geometry, a Cartesian coordinate system (, ) in a plane (geometry), plane is a coordinate system that specifies each point (geometry), point uniquely by a pair of real numbers called ''coordinates'', which are the positive and negative number ...

René Descartes René Descartes ( , ; ; 31 March 1596 – 11 February 1650) was a French philosopher, scientist, and mathematician, widely considered a seminal figure in the emergence of modern philosophy and Modern science, science. Mathematics was paramou ...

History

Initially called La Haye-en-Touraine, the town was the birthplace of the

philosopher Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

(1596–1650), who invented the

, although his family home was in nearby

Châtellerault Châtellerault (; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''Châteulrô/Chateleràud''; ) is a commune in the Vienne department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in France. It is located in the northeast of the former province Poitou, and the residents are cal ...

. Descartes left La Haye in approximately 1606 to attend the College Henri IV at

La Flèche La Flèche () is a town and commune in the French department of Sarthe, in the Pays de la Loire region in the Loire Valley. It is the sub-prefecture of the South-Sarthe, the chief district and the chief city of a canton, and the second most p ...

."Editor's Preface" in Discourse on Method and Meditations on First Philosophy (Hackett: 1998) During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the liberation of Descartes happened in 1944. The demarcation line was used as a border of

Vichy France Vichy France (; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was a French rump state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II, established as a result of the French capitulation after the Battle of France, ...

from 1940 to 1942. The town was renamed La Haye-Descartes in 1802 in his honour, and then renamed again Descartes in 1967. In 1966, the commune of Balesmes was merged with the commune of Descartes, as the commune's population was increased to 4,627 in 1968, rather than its smaller population in 1962 (about 1,679 people).

Geography

The river

forms a border between the department of

, as well the region of

and

. The town is situated approximately 300 kilometers south of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, the country's capital, and about fifty kilometers south of

Tours Tours ( ; ) is the largest city in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 inhabita ...

, the prefecture of the department. The commune is bordered by nine other communes, six of them is in

Indre-et-Loire Indre-et-Loire () is a department in west-central France named after the Indre River and Loire River. In 2019, it had a population of 610,079.Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

Marcé-sur-Esves Marcé-sur-Esves is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. T ...

to the north,

La Celle-Saint-Avant La Celle-Saint-Avant () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of Fra ...

to the northwest,

Civray-sur-Esves Civray-sur-Esves () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 communes of the Indre-et-Loire department of France. ...

to the northeast,

Cussay Cussay () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Population Cussay Eglise.jpg, Church CussayPanorama.JPG, Panorama See also *Communes of the Indre-et-Loire department The following is a list of the 272 commun ...

to the east,

Neuilly-le-Brignon Neuilly-le-Brignon () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It is a small village near Descartes, Le Grand-Pressigny, and Abilly. History The village of Neuilly-le-Brignon is mentioned for the first time by Greg ...

to the southeast,

Abilly Abilly () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guia ...

to the south, and the department of Vienne to the east across the

by the communes of Buxeuil to the southwest, and finally by Les Ormes and

Port-de-Piles Port-de-Piles () is a commune in the Vienne department and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, western France. Demographics See also *Communes of the Vienne department The following is a list of the 265 communes of the Vienne department of ...

to the east.

Education

The kindergartens, schools and universities in Descartes are: *L'école maternelle Côte des Granges *L'école élémentaire Côte des Granges *L'école primaire Balesmes *L'école primaire privée Louis Lefé *Le collège Roger Jahan

Population

Etymology

The town was originally called as Haiam in Latin (refers to a wood or a field that is surrounded by fences) in 1155, then La Haye, and then La Haye-en-Touraine. It was renamed to La Haye-Descartes during the French Revolution, the name of a revolutionary that is survived until the middle 20th century. The commune of Balesmes was merged with the commune of Descartes in 1966. The new commune was formed and was named Descartes in 1967, in honour of the philosopher

, who was born in the village in 1596. The town is locally nicknamed as the "town of the three Renés" (

René de Buxeuil René (''born again'' or ''reborn'' in French) is a common first name in French-speaking, Spanish-speaking, and German-speaking countries. It derives from the Latin name Renatus. René is the masculine form of the name (Renée being the feminine ...

, and

René Boylesve René Boylesve (; 14 April 1867 in La Haye-Descartes – 14 January 1926 in Paris), born René Marie Auguste Tardiveau (), was a French writer and a literary critic. Biography Boylesve was orphaned early and went to school in Poitiers and Tour ...

Personalities

The town is notable in Acadian genealogy as the birthplace of the Heberts and the famous mathematician

, who invented the

. To honour him, there is a statue near the town hall. It was also the birthplace of landscape painter, Pierre Ballue, as well as

, writer and literary critic, the electrical engineer

Gustave Trouvé Gustave Pierre Trouvé (2 January 1839 – 27 July 1902) was a French electrical engineer and inventor in the 19th century. A polymath, he was highly respected for his innovative skill in miniaturization. Early life and education Gustave Trouvé ...

, and the composer

International relationships

Descartes is twinned with four other cities in three countries: *

Cheddar Cheddar most often refers to either: *Cheddar cheese *Cheddar, Somerset, the village after which Cheddar cheese is named Cheddar may also refer to: Places * Cheddar, Ontario, Canada and Kannada * Cheddar Yeo, a river which flows through Cheddar ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

(1952) *

Aurora do Tocantins Aurora do Tocantins is a municipality located in the Brazilian state of Tocantins. Its population is 3,783 (2020) and its area is 753 km².IBGE The Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (; IBGE) is the agency responsible for offi ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

(1973) * La Albuera,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(1996) * Pueblonuevo del Guadiana, Spain (2013) Descartes also has cooperation with

Lhatse The new town of Lhatse or Lhatse Xian, also known as Quxar (, Quxia (), or Chusar, is a small town of a few thousand people in the Tibet Autonomous Region in the valley of the Yarlung Tsangpo River in Lhatse County, southwest of Shigatse and jus ...

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ), or Greater Tibet, is a region in the western part of East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are other ethnic groups s ...

and

Villadiego Villadiego is a Spanish town and municipality in the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga, in west of the province of Burgos, Castilla y León. It is seat of the comarca of Odra-Pisuerga. It is located 39 kilometres away from Burgos. According to demographi ...

References

{{authority control Communes of Indre-et-Loire Touraine