Sèvres (, ) is a French commune in the southwestern 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 ...

. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a department in the Île-de-France region of 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 and ...

department of the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (; ; ) is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France, with an official estimated population of 12,271,794 residents on 1 January 2023. Centered on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the cou ...

region. The commune, which had a population of 23,251 as of 2018, is known for its famous

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

production at the ''

Manufacture nationale de Sèvres The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres'' () is one of the principal European porcelain factories. It is located in Sèvres, Hauts-de-Seine, France. It is the continuation of Vincennes porcelain, founded in 1740, which moved to Sèvres in 1756. ...

'', which was also where the

Treaty of Sèvres The Treaty of Sèvres () was a 1920 treaty signed between some of the Allies of World War I and the Ottoman Empire, but not ratified. The treaty would have required the cession of large parts of Ottoman territory to France, the United Kingdom, ...

(1920) was signed.

Geography

Situation

Sèvres is a commune in the western suburbs of

, to the southwest of the centre of Paris, with an eastern edge by the river

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

. The commune borders

Île Seguin Île Seguin (, ''Seguin Island'') is an island on the Seine river between Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in the west suburbs of Paris, France. It has a surface area of approximately 11.5 hectares (28 acres), and is positioned opposite Meudon ...

, an island in the Seine, in the commune of

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France, located from the Kilometre zero, centre of Paris ...

, adjoining Sèvres. File:Map commune FR insee code 92072.png, Map of the commune File:Sèvres map.svg, View of the commune of Sèvres in red on the map of Paris and the "Petite Couronne" File:SEVRES - L'Embarcadaire.jpg, Banks of the

in the early 20th century. At that time, the river was an important transportation axis; river shuttles can be seen here as piers ensured the transportation of passengers to

Geology and landforms

The area of the commune is . The altitude varies between . Work at Sèvres, including for the construction of the expressway, permitted an update of interesting fossils in different geological layers. Notably, in

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

, some types of

sea urchin Sea urchins or urchins () are echinoderms in the class (biology), class Echinoidea. About 950 species live on the seabed, inhabiting all oceans and depth zones from the intertidal zone to deep seas of . They typically have a globular body cove ...

belemnite Belemnitida (or belemnites) is an extinct order (biology), order of squid-like cephalopods that existed from the Late Triassic to Late Cretaceous (And possibly the Eocene). Unlike squid, belemnites had an internal skeleton that made up the cone ...

beaks,

rhynchonella ''Rhynchonella'' is an extinct genus of brachiopod known from the Late Jurassic ( Oxfordian) to the Early Cretaceous (Valanginian, possibly Barremian). Formerly this genus was understood much more widely (more or less an equivalent of the Rhynch ...

s and

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but no ...

s were found; in the coarse

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

ammonites Ammonoids are extinct, (typically) coiled-shelled cephalopods comprising the subclass Ammonoidea. They are more closely related to living octopuses, squid, and cuttlefish (which comprise the clade Coleoidea) than they are to nautiluses (family N ...

.Jean-Michel Dechambre, ''Découvrir les Hauts-de-Seine'', éditions Horvath, 1980, p.76

Hydrography

* The

* The which empties into the Seine upstream of the

Pont de Sèvres The pont de Sèvres is a bridge above the Seine that links the cities of Boulogne-Billancourt and Sèvres, in France. The current bridge was put in service in 1963. The bridge is also above the RD 1 and RD 7 roads, and the Île-de-France t ...

Climate

The climate of île-de-France is

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

. The popular observation stations for meteorology at Sèvres are

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

and Vélizy – Villacoublay Air Base. The climate in the departments of the small Parisian crown is characterised by sunshine and relatively low precipitation. The following table allows a comparison of the Île-de-France climate with that of some large French cities: The following table shows the monthly averages of temperature and precipitation for the station of

Orly Orly () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France. It is located from the center of Paris. The name of Orly came from Latin ''Aureliacum'', "the villa of Aurelius". Orly Airport partially lies on the territory of the c ...

collected over the period 1961–1990:

Routes of communication and transport

Roads

Sèvres is traversed from side to side by the RN 10, today downgraded and allowing connection of the city to

and

Chaville Chaville () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies some from the centre of Paris in the south-western suburbs of the French capital. Geography Chaville is bordered by the follo ...

. It is also the starting point of the RN 118 at the level of the

Cycle paths

Sèvres presents a main traffic artery which supports important transit traffic at morning and evening peak hours. This allows preservation of its secondary residential purpose from suffering the negative effects of through traffic, and on which the development zone 30 was under study, as early as 2007. The city hall has, however, launched a reconsideration on these routes for sharing public spaces in favour of soft links (comfortable pavements, if possible with the development of cycle paths) and the use of public transit where they pass (comfortable bus stops, creation of own sites where technical conditions permit). Since November 2011, fifteen streets have two-way cycle lanes. They are the subject of ground markings and installation of specific signaling panels: * ''Avenue de la Cristallerie'' * ''Rue Brancas'', between the ''Rue de Ville-d'Avray'' and ''Rue Bernard-Palissy'' * ''Grande Rue'', between the ''Rue de Ville-d'Avray'' and the ''Place Gabriel-Péri'' * ''Rue du Docteur Gabriel-Ledermann'', between the ''Rue de Rueil'' and ''Rue Jules Sandeau'' * ''Rue Riocreux'', between ''Place Pierre-Brossolette'' and ''Rue de Ville d'Avray'' * ''Rue Brongniart'' * ''Rue Léon Journault'' (between ''Avenue Camille Sée'' and ''Sente Brézin'') then ''Rue Victor-Hugo'' * ''Rue des Bas-Tillets'' between ''Rue Benoît Malon'' and the ''Rue de la Garenne'' * ''Rue Albert Dammouse'', between ''Rue Avice'' and the ''Stade des Fontaines'' turn * ''Rue Rouget-de-l'Isle'' * ''Rue Jules-Ferry'' * ''Rue du Docteur Roux'' * ''Rue Charles-Vaillant'' * ''Rue Jean-Jaurès'' * ''Rue des Verrières''

Public transport

Bus routes , 171, 179, and of the RATP bus network, route of the ''Établissement Transdev de Nanterre'' ransdev establishment of Nanterre route in the and at night by and of the

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 S ...

route network. The city makes one minibus available to people with reduced mobility, ''L'autre Bus'' he Other Bus

Rail

Sèvres is served by on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line. It is also served by Sèvres–Ville-d'Avray station on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line. It is also served by the ''Musée de Sèvres'' and ''Brimborion'' stations on Line 2 of the Tramway of Île-de-France which links Paris - Porte de Versailles and La Défense.

Urbanism

Urban morphology

INSEE has divided the commune into ten islets grouped for statistical information. The commune of Sèvres includes 16 quarters, named as follows:

Housing

In the project planning and sustainable development (PADD) approved 10 May 2007, the commune displays an ambition to maintain its population around its situation of early 2005. It has a commitment to offer every household in the commune the opportunity to live and grow in Sèvres, and a stake in preserving its fabric of facilities and local businesses. Studies conducted in the context of the show that by 2015, this would involve the construction of approximately 40 homes per year (taking into account of the transformation of the former park, of the reduction of the vacancy rate and the loosening of household size) to maintain the communal population. In 2005, the commune had 24.5% of its total as social housing. These homes are mostly located along the RD 910, around the city centre. The commune displays a desire to preserve this social mix by ensuring a diversity of different types of housing, under the framework of future construction operations. As such, it shows the will to maintain its social housing stock at around 25% of the total stock of main residences. On the other hand, private rental declined between 1990 and 1999. An effort in favour of this type of housing will be always sought in order to maintain the diversity of population profiles. Some areas of the city are poorly provided with social housing, and the development of this type of housing should allow a better balance across the commune.

Development projects

The main projects are: * The reconstruction of the Croix Bosset school * The development of links between the banks of the Seine, the city, parks and woodlands by pedestrian openings designed to develop a frame of soft east–west links. Such as linking Saint-Cloud Park / île Monsieur, between Brimborion Park and the Brimborion tram station, along the Seine, a development project of the entrance of Sèvres and the vicinity of the Museum of Manufacturing by the creation of a pedestrian/bicycle along the ''Grande Rue'', behind the wall of the Museum.

Toponymy

The name of the locality is attested as ''Savara'' in the 6th century,Hippolyte Cocheris, ''Anciens noms des communes de Seine-et-Oise'', 1874, originating from the name of the stream which followed the Valley of Viroflay, Chaville, Sèvres. Then in the forms of ''Villa Savara'' in the 6th century, ''Saura'', ''Saure'', ''Savra'', ''Saevara'' in the 11th century,Michel Roblin, Le terroir de Paris aux époques gallo-romaine et franque, page 273 ''Severa'', ''Sepera'' and ''Separa'' in the 13th century, ''Sevra'', ''Sièvre'', ''Saives'', ''Sèvre-en-France-lez-paris'' from the 14th century, before ''Sèvres''. Sèvres took the name of the river which ran through it. Sèvres includes radical ''sav-'', ''sab-'', in the sense of "hollow" or radical ''sam-'' "quiet". These radicals are often used in hydronymy. The root is the same for the Sèvre Nantaise and the

Sèvre Niortaise The Sèvre Niortaise () is a long river in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire regions in western France, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean. Its source is in the Deux-Sèvres department, near Sepvret, north of Melle. It flows through t ...

which gave its name to the Department of the

Deux-Sèvres Deux-Sèvres (, Poitevin-Saintongese: ''Deùs Saevres'') is a French department. ''Deux-Sèvres'' literally means "two Sèvres": the Sèvre Nantaise and the Sèvre Niortaise are two rivers which have their sources in the department. It had a ...

History

* The town of Sèvres existed in 560, when Saint Germain,

Bishop of Paris The Archdiocese of Paris (; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is one of twenty-three archdioceses in France. The original diocese is traditionally thought to have been create ...

, healed a sick person and built the church. * The Church of Saint-Romain-de-Blaye, current and several times revised, dates from the 13th century. There was a seigniorial château. * The manufacture de Sèvres was formed in 1750, by the

Ferme générale The ''ferme générale'' (, "general farm") was, in ''ancien régime'' France, essentially an outsourced customs, excise and indirect tax operation. It collected duties on behalf of the King (plus hefty bonus fees for themselves), under renewable ...

; they were held by the Marquis de Fulvi who operated at Vincennes. * In 1756,

Madame de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and rema ...

transferred the Vincennes porcelain factory to Sèvres. It was moved to the location of the Guyarde, the former resort of

Lully Jean-Baptiste Lully ( – 22 March 1687) was a French composer, dancer and instrumentalist of Italian birth, who is considered a master of the French Baroque music style. Best known for his operas, he spent most of his life working in the court o ...

. * In 1760,

Louis XV Louis XV (15 February 1710 – 10 May 1774), known as Louis the Beloved (), was King of France from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774. He succeeded his great-grandfather Louis XIV at the age of five. Until he reached maturity (then defi ...

bought the factory which thus becomes 'royal'. * The

, which was of wood, was begun in stone in 1809 and finished in 1820. * In 1815, the inhabitants of Sèvres, along with some soldiers, tried to resist the Prussians who occupied and looted Sèvres, despite the capitulation signed at Saint-Cloud. * During the

repression of January and February 1894 The repression of January and February 1894 was an episode of the Ère des attentats (1892–1894), during which France engaged in significant Political repression, state repression against Anarchism, anarchists. The passage of the lois scélérat ...

, the police conducted raids targeting the

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

living there, without much success. * The

(10 August 1920) A treaty was signed in the large room which currently houses the Museum of Porcelain at Sèvres, it was a peace treaty between the Allies and the Ottoman Empire, to the detriment of the latter. * The Protocols of Sèvres (21 to 24 October 1956) Protocols of Sèvres (sometimes referred to as 'agreements') are a secret seven-point agreement recording in writing a tripartite agreement between Israel, France and Great Britain in response to the nationalisation of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

by the Egyptian leader

Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

. * In 1961, the renovation of old town centre, which was unhealthy, accompanied by the deviation of the RN 10, was committed to by the municipality of Dr. Odic, and included the demolition of 1,500 houses and the construction of 1,600 new houses, along with of offices or commercial premises. The municipality of Jean Caillonneau redirected urbanisation at the end of the 1980s to promote the establishment of offices in order to "remake Sèvres as a dynamic and industrious city".

Politics and administration

Political trends and results

Since the elections of 2007, Sèvres belongs to the communes of more than 3,500 inhabitants, using

voting machines A voting machine is a machine used to record votes in an election without paper. The first voting machines were mechanical but it is increasingly more common to use ''electronic voting machines''. Traditionally, a voting machine has been defi ...

. In the

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

on the Constitutional Treaty for Europe on 29 May 2005, Sévriens mostly voted for the European Constitution, with 69.93% in favour against 30.07% not in favour, with a 24.08% abstention rate (entire France: No at 54.67%, Yes at 45.33%). At the

2007 presidential election This electoral calendar 2007 lists the national/federal direct elections held in 2007 in the de jure and de facto list of sovereign states, sovereign states and their list of dependent territories, dependent territories. Referendums are included ...

, the first round saw

Nicolas Sarkozy Nicolas Paul Stéphane Sarközy de Nagy-Bocsa ( ; ; born 28 January 1955) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2007 to 2012. In 2021, he was found guilty of having tried to bribe a judge in 2014 to obtain information ...

in the lead with 35.58% or 4,750 votes, followed by

Ségolène Royal Ségolène Royal (; born Marie-Ségolène Royal; 22 September 1953) is a French politician who took part in the 2007 French presidential election, losing to Nicolas Sarkozy in the second round. She was the first woman in France's history to r ...

with 26,09% or 3,212 votes, and then

François Bayrou François René Jean Lucien Bayrou (; born 25 May 1951) is a French politician who has served as Prime Minister of France since December 2024. He has presided over the European Democratic Party (EDP) since 2004 and the Democratic Movement (France ...

with 23.35% or 2,875 votes, no other candidates exceeded the threshold of 5%. In the second round, 56.40% or 6,661 voted for

with 43.60% or 5,149 voting for Ségolène Royal, a result which was more disposed than the national average. In the second round, 53.06% voted for Nicolas Sarkozy and 46.94% for Ségolène Royal. For this presidential election, the turnout rate was very high. There were 18,455 registered voters in Sèvres, 89.56% or 16,528 voters participated in the ballot, the abstention rate was 10.44% or 1,927 votes, with 0.54% or 90 votes conducted as a blank vote, and finally 99.46% or 16,438 votes were cast. In the , a

miscellaneous right Miscellaneous right (', ''DVD'') in France refers to centre-right or right-wing candidates who are not members of any large party. This can include members of small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their party for running against thei ...

(DVD) list led by Grégoire de La Roncière opposed the list led by the outgoing mayor, , of the

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement ( ; UMP ) was a Liberal conservatism, liberal-conservative List of political parties in France, political party in France, largely inspired by the Gaullism, Gaullist tradition. During its existence, the UMP was o ...

(UMP), and then by Laurence Roux-Fouillet after the withdrawal of the latter. In the second round, on 30 March, the DVD list gained two more votes than the UMP list (3,279 votes against 3,277). On 4 April, Grégoire de La Roncière was elected Mayor of Sèvres by the new municipal council.

Municipal government

Sèvres has implemented a Communal Youth Council, so as to involve young people in the life of the commune.

List of mayors

Since 1971, five mayors have held office in Sèvres:

Judicial and administrative authorities

Sèvres is within the jurisdiction of the

Tribunal d'instance In France prior to 2020, the ''Tribunal d'instance'' (literally "Court of First Instance") was a judicial lower court of record of first instance for general civil suits and included a criminal division, the Police Court (''tribunal de police''), ...

as well as in that of the police court in

Environmental policy

The municipality wishes to enhance its environmental richness (forests, banks of the Seine, built heritage, topography, etc.) which is an asset in terms of image for the city and quality of life for its inhabitants: "It should preserve those elements which are the links of a string of parks and gardens which are also involved in large landscape continuity, of opportunities for walks and tours at an intercommunal level".

Twin towns

Sèvres is twinned with: *

Wolfenbüttel Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel District Wolfenbüttel (; ) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, the administrative capital of Wolfenbüttel (district), Wolfenbüttel Distri ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, since 1980 *

Mount Prospect, Illinois Mount Prospect is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is part of Elk Grove and Wheeling townships, about northwest of downtown Chicago and approximately north of O'Hare International Airport. As of the 2020 census, the vill ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, since 2000 Furthermore, the commune of Sèvres signed a cooperation agreement with the Mărăcineni commune in

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, in 1991.

Intercommunality

The commune of Sèvres was a member of the

Agglomeration Community An agglomeration community (, ) is a consortium of communes (municipalities) in France, created as a government structure by the Chevènement Law of 1999. It is one of four forms of intercommunality, less integrated than a or a communauté ur ...

Val de Seine The Val de Seine () is one of the most important central business district, business districts of the Demographics of Paris#Paris agglomeration, Paris agglomeration. Located southwest of the city, it spreads along a bend of the Seine, mainly in the ...

and is a member of the since its inception on 27 November 2008, along with the communes of

Issy-les-Moulineaux Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of the river Seine. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from Notre Dame Cathedral, whic ...

Meudon Meudon () is a French Communes of France, commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, on the left bank of the Seine. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of P ...

Vanves Vanves () is a Communes of France, commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, centre of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe and the tenth in France. History On ...

and

Ville-d'Avray Ville-d'Avray () is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. The commune is part of the arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt in the Hauts-de-Seine department. Demographics Transport Ville ...

Population and society

Demography

Demographic evolution

In 2017, the commune had 23,507 inhabitants.

Age structure

The distribution of age groups of the commune of Sèvres and of the department of Hauts-de-Seine are shown below.

Education

The city administers six nursery schools and five primary schools. The department manages a middle school (''

collège In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

'') and the region of

a senior high school/sixth-form college (''

lycée In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for students between ...

'') by the name of Lycée Jean-Pierre-Vernant in memory of the and historian. The college/high school welcomes the international sections of Sèvres (bilingual French/English and French/German) recognised for their excellence. These prepare undergraduate French and OIB (Baccalauréat International Option). Sèvres also boasts a private institution (school and college): The Jeanne-d'Arc oan of ArcSchool. The , a private engineering college is also installed on the territory of the commune, in the middle of the technical centre of the foundry industries Strate School of Design a private institution for technical education teaching

industrial design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in adva ...

3D modeling In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical coordinate-based Computer representation of surfaces, representation of a surface of an object (inanimate or living) in Three-dimensional space, three dimensions vi ...

and design thinking is also located in Sèvres.

History of education

The operated from September 1941, under the direction of Yvonne Hagnauer (Goéland), until November 1958 at 14 Rue Croix-Bosset. It then moved to the Château de Bussières, on the opposite bank of the Seine. In 1991 it became the College Jean-Marie-Guyot. The École normale supérieure of young girls was created in Sèvres in 1881. It then moved to ''Boulevard Jourdan'', Paris, before merging with the

École Normale Supérieure École or Ecole may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing i ...

, in 1985. It held the old buildings of the porcelain factory, which today houses the .

Cultural events and festivities

On the last Saturday of September is "The Dictation of Sèvres" writing competition. This has been held since 2007.

Health

Sèvres is home to one of the sites of the ''Centre Hospitalier de 4 Villes'' entral Hospital of 4 cities Since 1 January 2006, this centre brings together the ''Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal Jean Rostand'', (which already included Chaville, Sèvres and Ville d'Avray) and the ''Centre Hospitalier de Saint-Cloud''. The site of Sèvres specialises in hospitalisation and consultation in maternity/gynaecology/fertility and medical services.

Sport

The Sèvres Football Club senior team is currently coached by Alexandre Matejic, a former professional footballer, and winner of the with

Toulouse FC Toulouse Football Club () is a French professional association football, football club based in Toulouse. The club was founded in 1970 and currently plays in Ligue 1, the first division of Football in France, French football. Toulouse plays it ...

. Operating in the departmental divisions, Sèvres FC just missed reaching the 4th round of the Coupe de France 2008–2009. Indeed, playing against

Red Star A red star, five-pointed and filled, is a symbol that has often historically been associated with communist ideology, particularly in combination with the hammer and sickle, but is also used as a purely socialist symbol in the 21st century. ...

(then in CFA) at the Fountains Stadium, Sèvres FC opened the score in the 7th minute through Thomas Millet. The score remained at 1-0 for seventy-five minutes, until the equalisation by Demba Diagouraga, for the team from Saint-Ouen. The Sèvres team, however, collapsed in overtime and lost four goals, giving the 'Greens' a 5–1 win after extra time. Having been a location which the

2012 Tour de France The 2012 Tour de France was the 99th edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tour (cycling), Grand Tours. It started in the Belgian city of Liège on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées stage in the Tour de France, Champs ...

passed through on that year's final stage, Sèvres will host the departure for Stage 21, the final stage of the

2015 Tour de France The 2015 Tour de France was the 102nd edition of the Tour de France, one of cycling's Grand Tours. The -long race consisted of 21 stages, starting on 4 July in Utrecht, the Netherlands, and concluding on 26 July with the Champs-Élysées sta ...

, on 26 July, heading towards the year's ultimate finish line on the

Champs-Élysées The Avenue des Champs-Élysées (, ; ) is an Avenue (landscape), avenue in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, long and wide, running between the Place de la Concorde in the east and the Place Charles de Gaulle in the west, where the Arc ...

Media

Sèvres has been host to the

internet radio Internet radio, also known as online radio, web radio, net radio, streaming radio, e-radio and IP radio, is a digital audio service transmitted via the Internet. Broadcasting on the Internet is usually referred to as webcasting since it is not ...

station ''GOOM Radio'', since 2007.

Worship

Sèvres has places of

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

and

Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

worship.

Catholic worship

Since January 2010, the commune of Sèvres is part of the deanery of the hills, one of the nine

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of a ...

of the Diocese of Nanterre. Within this deanery, places of Catholic worship under the two

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

es of Sèvres are: * Parish of Saint-Romain: * Parish of Notre-Dame-des-Bruyères: Notre-Dame des Bruyères.

Protestant worship

Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in France to ...

(Sequoia Parish Centre)

Jewish worship

Jewish Community of Sèvres

Muslim worship

Association of Muslims of Sèvres

Buddhist faith

It is at Sèvres where the is situated.

Economy

Income of the population and taxation

In 2010, the median taxable household income was €44,450, which ranked Sèvres at 960th position among the 31,525 communes with more than 39 households in metropolitan France.

Employment

In 2007, the communal employment rate was close to 100% (10,369 jobs for 10,607 employable people who resided in Sèvres), which corresponds to the objective which was set out in the blueprint of the Val de Seine, to the horizon of 2015.

Local culture and heritage

Places and monuments

The commune includes many listed monuments in the .

The Church of Saint-Romain-de-Blaye

The churchSaint-Romain-de-Blaye is the Basilica situated on the banks of the Gironde where Charlemagne's nephew Roland was buried in the 'Chanson de Roland'. A famous hermit named Roman lived there. offers an amalgam of Gothic, redesigned and damaged by the 17th century: Outdoors, there is a clerestory tower which was disfigured. The rounded roof has been largely preserved, but it is much uncovered. The Way of the Cross, painted on porcelain, comes from the Manufacture de Sèvres, and stained glass windows, more than a century old. This church was inaugurated several times. It was founded by the Merovingian King

Dagobert II Dagobert II (; ; died 679) was a Merovingian king of the Franks, ruling in Austrasia from 675 or 676 until his death. He is one of the more obscure Merovingians. He has been considered a martyr since at least the ninth century. None of the narrati ...

in the 7th century, it was a Royal Parish under

Marie Leszczyńska Maria Karolina Zofia Felicja Leszczyńska (; 23 June 1703 – 24 June 1768), also known as Marie Leczinska (), was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis XV from their marriage on 4 September 1725 until her death in 1768. The daughter of St ...

. The first municipal assembly, created by the edict of 1787, consisted of two members: The lord, namely King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

, and the priest, as well as nine other elected members. This assembly met in the church at the end of

vespers Vespers /ˈvɛspərz/ () is a Christian liturgy, liturgy of evening prayer, one of the canonical hours in Catholic (both Latin liturgical rites, Latin and Eastern Catholic liturgy, Eastern Catholic liturgical rites), Eastern Orthodox, Oriental O ...

or high mass. This church was listed in the inventory of historical monuments in 1937. Its bell, called ''Anette'', was blessed in 1760 and listed in the inventory of historical monuments on 27 April 1944. The rectory was built between 1744 and 1786.

The Church of Our Lady of Bruyères

This chapel was built in 1930, on the edge of the Route des Gardes. Established as a parish in 1962, destroyed in 1971, it was rebuilt at 23 rue du Docteur Roux in 1968.

The Armenian College

This building, located 26 ''Rue Troyon'', was given to the Pompadour for a school for girls. It was rebuilt for Bacler d'Albe between 1816 (cadastre) and 1824 (death of general). Occupied in 1898 by a convalescent home for colonial soldiers, it is currently the Samuel Moorat Armenian College, but it is currently threatened, taking into account its state.

The manufacture of crystals of the Queen

The building of this factory, located at 16 Rue Troyon and built in 1744, was classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 1 December 1986.

The ''Manufacture nationale de Sèvres''

The current building dates from 1876. This building was classified in the inventory of historical monuments on 30 October 1935. The ''

'' is a public establishment manufacturing

ceramic A ceramic is any of the various hard, brittle, heat-resistant, and corrosion-resistant materials made by shaping and then firing an inorganic, nonmetallic material, such as clay, at a high temperature. Common examples are earthenware, porcela ...

in the tradition of the 18th century.

The Maison des Jardies

The is the home of Balzac,

Corot CoRoT (French: ; English: Convection, Rotation and planetary Transits) was a space telescope mission which operated from 2006 to 2013. The mission's two objectives were to search for extrasolar planets with short orbital periods, particularly t ...

and Gambetta who died there on 31 December 1882. This house, located 14 Avenue Gambetta, had been bought by Balzac, which he occupied from 1837 to 1840, and was then leased by Gambetta in 1878.

National Ceramic Museum

Founded in 1824 by

Alexandre Brongniart Alexandre Brongniart (5 February 17707 October 1847) was a French chemist, mineralogist, geologist, paleontologist, and zoologist, who collaborated with Georges Cuvier on a study of the geology of the region around Paris. Observing fossil conten ...

, director of the

, under the name of Ceramic and Vitric Museum. Anxious to present the history of the techniques of ceramics and vitreous materials, through the world and eras, the latter was one of the collections of ceramics of the most varied. The Museum brings together an exceptional selection of pottery, ceramics and porcelain.

Tinh Tam Buddhist Temple

The magnificent Buddhist temple or is one of the busiest in France.

Castel Henriette Villa

Castel Henriette, built in 1899–1900, was an important

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau ( ; ; ), Jugendstil and Sezessionstil in German, is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. It was often inspired by natural forms such as the sinuous curves of plants and ...

work by the architect

Hector Guimard Hector Guimard (, 10 March 1867 – 20 May 1942) was a French architect and designer, and a prominent figure of the Art Nouveau style. He achieved early fame with his design for the Castel Beranger, the first Art Nouveau apartment building i ...

; it was demolished in 1969.

Stone quarries

These stone quarries were dug into the hillside and used for wine storage in 1740, divided into 30 galleries including one called Royal Gallery; converted into a brasserie in 1840, which burned down in 1880 and was rebuilt in 1898.

Religious institutions

* Boarding school of the

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

: The presence of nuns who teach at Sèvres dates back to 1788, when an act provided for the education of poor girls by four sisters of charity. At Sèvres, on Rue

Gabriel Péri Gabriel Péri (; 9 February 1902 — 15 December 1941) was a prominent French communist journalist and politician who served in the Chamber of Deputies from 1932 to 1940 for Seine-et-Oise. A member of the French Resistance in World War II, he ...

, were formerly the convent, school and boarding school of the Dominican teachers of Most Holy-Rosary of Sèvres, work encouraged by the Holy curé d'Ars, founded by the Sister Marie-Rose of the Sacred Heart Order of Preachers at the end of the 19th century, with Fr. Codant, in 1858, of which novices carried the name of servants of the

Sacred Heart The Most Sacred Heart of Jesus () is one of the most widely practised and well-known Catholic devotions, wherein the heart of Jesus Christ is viewed as a symbol of "God's boundless and passionate love for mankind". This devotion to Christ is p ...

and had several foundations, in San Remo for example during the exile from France in 1903, and also an orphanage, Rue Troyon (they returned to France in 1913 and asked for Government permission to reopen a

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

). During the war an ambulance and infirmary for wounded soldiers was installed in the convent. * Novitiate of the

Assumptionists The Assumptionists, formally known as the Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption (; abbreviated AA), is a worldwide congregation of Catholic priests and brothers. It is active in many countries. The French branch played a major rol ...

: On some old postcards, one can admire the Chapel of the

, located at 14 Rue de la Croix-Bosset in the quarter of La Croix-Bosset. This property, acquired on 30 April 1874, was offered to the religious of the assumption at the end of the year 1877 to become the Paris novitiate outside the city. The

Oblate In Christianity (specifically the Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Anglican and Methodist traditions), an oblate is a person associated with a Benedictine monastery or convent who is specifically dedicated to God and service. Oblates are i ...

s of the Assumption also settled in Sèvres and then a community of Assumptionist sisters. Finally, the religious of the province of Paris between 1946 and 1964, a lively centre of Saint-Étienne in Sèvres, on Avenue Division Leclerc, a community called ''La Cloche'', close to the

Renault Renault S.A., commonly referred to as Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English), is a French Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company curr ...

factories.

Cultural heritage

Sèvres and artworks

Sèvres, near Paris but very rustic, attracted the greatest painters:''Découvrir les Hauts-de-Seine'', p.77, Jean-Michel Dechambre, éditions Horvath, 1980 *

Samuel William Reynolds Samuel William Reynolds (4 July 1773 – 13 August 1835) was a mezzotint engraver, landscape painter and landscape gardener. Reynolds was a popular engraver in both Britain and France and there are over 400 examples of his work in the National ...

painted ''Saint-Cloud et le pont de Sèvres'' (

Musée Condé The – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the château and ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

) * The

Douanier Rousseau Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Sisley, who lived in ''Grand-Rue'', painted the former factory, the bridge and the banks of the Seine, paths *

is painted his famous ''Chemin de Sèvres'' (Musée du Louvre) * Paul Huet painted are tasty and country views as possible ( Musée de l'Île-de-France, Sceaux) *

Marie Bracquemond Marie Anne Caroline Bracquemond (; Quivoron; 1 December 1840 – 17 January 1916) was a French Impressionism, Impressionist artist. She was one of four notable women in the Impressionist movement, along with Mary Cassatt, Berthe Morisot, and Eva ...

, wife of

Félix Bracquemond Félix Henri Bracquemond (; 22 May 1833 – 29 October 1914) was a French painter, etcher, and printmaker. He played a key role in the revival of printmaking, encouraging artists such as Édouard Manet, Edgar Degas and Camille Pissarro to use ...

(''Le Chemin des Coutures à Sèvres'', National Gallery of Canada) linked to the Group of impressionists and employed at the factory, is painted Sèvres. His most famous work: ''Sur la terrasse de Sèvres avec

Fantin-Latour Henri Fantin-Latour (; 14 January 1836 – 25 August 1904) was a French painter and lithographer best known for his flower paintings and group portraits of Parisian artists and writers. Early life Born in Grenoble, Isère, Ignace Henri Jean Th� ...

'' (leg. Caillebotte). *

Constant Troyon Constant Troyon (; August 28, 1810 – February 21, 1865) was a French painter of the Barbizon school. In the early part of his career, he painted mostly landscapes. It was only comparatively late in life that Troyon found his ''métier'' as ...

born in Sèvres in 1810, first painter of the

Barbizon Barbizon () is a commune (town) in the Seine-et-Marne department in north-central France. It is located near the Fontainebleau Forest. Demographics The inhabitants are called ''Barbizonais''. Art history The Barbizon school of painters is n ...

school are painted ''Chemin de forêt'' and the ''Maison Colas'', the ''Prise de la culée du pont de Sèvres''. Constant Troyon's parents worked at the manufacture de Sèvres, his father as a painter decorator, and his mother as a buffer. He was encouraged in the field of the arts by his godfather, Riocreux, the curator of the Ceramics Museum of Sèvres and a floral painter. He lived with his mother at the factory until the age of twenty. He first exhibited three paintings at the Paris Salon of 1833, including the ''Vue de la Maison Colas'' and the ''Vue de la Fête de Sèvres''. *

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

lived for a year in Sèvres, in 1906–1907, at the Rue des Ursulines and then small Rue des Binelles, became Rue Théodore Deck. He painted the ''La Vie Mélangée''. * Alain Azémar, a painter from Sèvres, living in the Rue de Caves, a street which was the theatre of many "squats" protest-painted scenes of Sèvres on many occasions. Many of his watercolours were commissioned and are displayed by the city hall.

Sèvres and philately

The French Post Office has developed several times Sèvres à l'Honneur: On 25 March 1957, a postage stamp was issued with a face value of 30.00

Franc The franc is any of various units of currency. One franc is typically divided into 100 centimes. The name is said to derive from the Latin inscription ''francorum rex'' (King of the Franks) used on early French coins and until the 18th century ...

s, honouring the Manufacture Nationale de Sèvres, drawn and engraved by Pierre Munier. On 10 January 2009, a postage stamp was issued with a face value of €0.55, representing a Quimper flat oval earthenware, displayed by the Museum of Sèvres.

Sèvres and television

The city of Sèvres is the scene for the filming of the French television series ''

Fais pas ci, fais pas ça ''Fais pas ci, fais pas ça'' (; 'Don't do this, don't do that') is a French television series created by Anne Giafferi and Thierry Bizot for France Télévisions, starring Valérie Bonneton, Isabelle Gélinas, Bruno Salomone and Guillaume ...

''.

Personalities linked to the commune

Andrew Albicy Andrew Albicy (born 21 March 1990) is a French professional basketball player for CB Gran Canaria, Gran Canaria of the Spanish Liga ACB. He also represents the France national basketball team, French national team in international competition. C ...

basketball player *

Demba Ba Demba Ba (born 25 May 1985) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. He serves as the chairman of National Independent Soccer Association side Albion San Diego. He made his first-team debut with French team Rouen in 2005 b ...

Senegal Senegal, officially the Republic of Senegal, is the westernmost country in West Africa, situated on the Atlantic Ocean coastline. It borders Mauritania to Mauritania–Senegal border, the north, Mali to Mali–Senegal border, the east, Guinea t ...

ese international football player * Maurice Béné (1884-1960), politician * André Bizette-Lindet, sculptor, died in Sèvres in 1988 *

Yamoudou Camara Yamoudou Camara (born 12 August 1987) is a French former professional footballer who played as a centre-back. Career While he never made his league debut for Nancy, Camara made two cup appearances in the 2007–08 season. In July 2008 Camara ...

- French football player *

Manu Chao Manu Chao (; born José Manuel Tomás Arturo Chao Ortega on 21 June 1961) is a French-Spanish musician. He sings in French language, French, Spanish language, Spanish, English language, English, Italian language, Italian, Arabic, Catalan language ...

- Hispano-French musician * Issiar Dia -

ese international football player * Pierre Louis Félix Lanquetot (1880–1974) - French brigadier general *

Allan Linguet Allan Linguet (born 17 August 1999) is a French professional footballer who plays a defender for club Dunkerque. Career Linguet made his professional debut with Valenciennes in a 2–1 Ligue 2 tie with Chamois Niortais F.C. on 26 April 2019. ...

(born 1999), footballer * Benoit Mozin (1769–1857), French composer, died in Sèvres *

Iliana Rupert Iliana Rupert (born 12 July 2001) is a French basketball player for the Golden State Valkyries of the Women’s National Basketball Association and Çukurova Basketbol of the Turkish Super League. Professional career On December 6, 2024, Ruper ...

(born 2001), basketball player * Georges Salles (1889–1966), art historian, was born in Sèvres *

Jean-Pierre Vernant Jean-Pierre Vernant (; January 4, 1914 – January 9, 2007) was a French resistant, historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. Influenced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vernant developed a structuralist approach to Greek myth, traged ...

(1914–2007), historian, died in Sèvres *

Karim Ziani Karim Koceila Yanis Ziani (; born 17 August 1982) is a former professional footballer. He played in different midfield positions but was best known as a playmaker. Born in France, he represented Algeria at international level. Ziani is conside ...

- Algerian international football player

Heraldry, logo and motto

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Sèvres city council website

(in French)
Another unofficial website about Sèvres
(in French)
Friends of the ceramics museum website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sevres Communes of Hauts-de-Seine Waddesdon Manor