Fresnes () is a commune in the

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

department in the southern suburbs 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 ...

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 located from the center of Paris, next to Antony, Sceaux and Rungis. It is drained by the River Bièvre. The Fresnes Prison, where

Jean Genet Jean Genet (; ; – ) was a French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. In his early life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but he later became a writer and playwright. His major works include the novels '' The Th ...

was held for a time, is located there. It was, between 1978 and 1981, the only place for executions in France, although no sentence of death was executed in that period. The guillotine maintained for the purpose remains in storage at the prison.

Name

The name Fresnes was recorded for the first time in a

papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...

of 1152 as ''Fraxinum''. This name comes from

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. It was also the administrative language in the former Western Roman Empire, Roman Provinces of Mauretania, Numidi ...

''fraxinus'' (modern French: ''frêne''), meaning "

ash tree ''Fraxinus'' (), commonly called ash, is a genus of plants in the olive and lilac family, Oleaceae, and comprises 45–65 species of usually medium-to-large trees, most of which are deciduous trees, although some subtropical species are evergr ...

", after the ash trees covering the territory of Fresnes in ancient times.

Population

Transport

Fresnes is served by no station of the Paris Métro, RER, or suburban rail network. The closest station to Fresnes are Antony or La Croix de Berny station on Paris RER line B and Chemin d'Antony station on

RER line C RER C is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south. Briefly, betwee ...

. These stations are located in the neighboring commune of Antony, from the town center of Fresnes.

Mayor

The town hall is situated in front of the Church in the street Pierre and Marie Curie, the Mayor Jean Jacques Bridey was elected in 2012.

Culture

In the MJC Louise Michel you can find a cinema, a theatre and a concert hall.

Education

In Fresnes there are a lot of schools, four kindergartens, five elementary schools. There are three junior high schools and one senior high school/sixth-form college. *Preschools: Barbara, Les Blancs Bouleaux, Les Capucines, Les Coquelicots, Les Marguerites, Les TulipesLes écoles
" Fresnes. Retrieved on September 7, 2016. *Elementary schools: Barbara, des Frères Lumière,

Robert Doisneau Robert Doisneau (; 14 April 1912 – 1 April 1994) was a French photographer. From the 1930s, he photographed the streets of Paris. He was a champion of humanist photography and, with Henri Cartier-Bresson, a pioneer of photojournalism. D ...

, Théodore Monod,

Jean Monnet Jean Omer Marie Gabriel Monnet (; 9 November 1888 – 16 March 1979) was a French civil servant, entrepreneur, diplomat, financier, and administrator. An influential supporter of European unity, he is considered one of the founding fathers of t ...

Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist, pharmacist, and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, Fermentation, microbial fermentation, and pasteurization, the la ...

, Emilie Roux *Junior high schools: Collège Jean Charcot, Collège Francine Fromond, Collège

Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, vicomte de Saint-Exupéry (29 June 1900 – 31 July 1944), known simply as Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (, , ), was a French writer, poet, journalist and aviator. Born in Lyon to an French nobility, aristocratic ...

*Senior high/sixth-form: Lycée intercommunal Frédéric Mistral The commune is also home to a municipal library, Bibliothèque municipale de Fresnes.Home
Bibliothèque municipale de Fresnes. Retrieved on September 7, 2016.

Sports

The AAS Fresnes is the football club of the city, they play at Parc des Sports.

Shopping Centre

In Fresnes there is a mall called la Cerisaie.

References

External links

Official website
Communes of Val-de-Marne {{ValMarne-geo-stub