Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.[Populations légales 2019: 92 Hauts-de-Seine]
INSEE and a total area of 176 square kilometres (68 square miles), it is the second most highly densely populated department of France after Paris. It is the fifth most populous department in 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 ...
. Its prefecture is Nanterre although Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...
, one of its two subprefectures alongside Antony, has a larger population.
Hauts-de-Seine is best known for containing the modern office, cinema and shopping complex 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 ...
, one of Grand Paris's main economic centres and one of Europe's major business districts. Hauts-de-Seine is one of the wealthiest departments in France; it has the second highest GDP per capita in France at €106,800 in 2020. Its inhabitants are called ''Altoséquanais'' (masculine) and ''Altoséquanaises'' (feminine) in French.
History
From 1790 to 1968, Hauts-de-Seine was part of the former department of Seine.
The Hauts-de-Seine department was created in 1968, from parts of the former departments of Seine and Seine-et-Oise. Its creation reflected the implementation of a law passed in 1964; Nanterre had already been selected as the prefecture for the new department early in 1965.
In 2016, the Departmental Council of Hauts-de-Seine voted in favour of a fusion of Hauts-de-Seine and Yvelines, its western neighbour. Following a similar vote in Yvelines, an ''établissement public interdépartemental'' was established. The fusion project was abandoned in 2021, but the cooperation between the two departments continues.
Demographics
Population development since 1881
Place of birth of residents
Geography
Situation
Hauts-de-Seine and two other small departments ( Seine-Saint-Denis and 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 ...
) form an inner ring around Paris, known as the ''Petite Couronne'' (literal translation: "Little Crown"). Together with the City of Paris, they are included in Greater Paris since 1 January 2016. It is the Smallest Department in France followed by Seine-Saint-Denis and 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 ...
. It is slightly smaller than Maldives
Maldives (, ; dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖެ, translit=Dhivehi Raajje, ), officially the Republic of Maldives ( dv, ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ޖުމްހޫރިއްޔާ, translit=Dhivehi Raajjeyge Jumhooriyyaa, label=none, ), is an archipelag ...
. The whole of the department is a salient which is looks like Warwickshire
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avo ...
in England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
, within the districts of North Warwickshire, Nuneaton and Bedworth, and Rugby
Rugby may refer to:
Sport
* Rugby football in many forms:
** Rugby league: 13 players per side
*** Masters Rugby League
*** Mod league
*** Rugby league nines
*** Rugby league sevens
*** Touch (sport)
*** Wheelchair rugby league
** Rugby union: 1 ...
.
Administration
Hauts-de-Seine comprises three departmental arrondissements and 36 communes:
Economy
Hauts-de-Seine is one of France's wealthiest departments and one of Europe's richest areas. Its GDP per capita was €106,800 in 2020, according to Eurostat
Eurostat ('European Statistical Office'; DG ESTAT) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission located in the Kirchberg, Luxembourg, Kirchberg quarter of Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. Eurostat's main responsibilities are to provide stati ...
official figures.
Politics
In the 1990s and early 2000s, Hauts-de-Seine received national media attention as the result of a corruption scandal concerning the misuse of public funds provided for the department's housing projects. Implicated were former minister and departmental council president Charles Pasqua, as well as other personalities of the Rally for the Republic (RPR) party.
Hauts-de-Seine was the political base of 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.
Born in Paris, he is of Hungarian, Greek Jewish, and French origin. Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Se ...
, President of the French Republic from 2007 to 2012. He was Mayor of Neuilly-sur-Seine (1983–2002) and President of the Departmental Council of Hauts-de-Seine (2004–2007) before he assumed the office. Sarkozy succeeded Pasqua as President of the Departmental Council.
Departmental Council of Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is governed by a departmental council. Its 46 members are called departmental councillors. The electorate of Hauts-de-Seine usually votes for right-wing parties; there has never been a left-wing majority since the department's inception in 1968.
The departmental council is the deliberative organ of the department. The executive is led by the council president, assisted by vice presidents, in charge of various portfolios. Departmental councillors are elected (two per canton
Canton may refer to:
Administrative division terminology
* Canton (administrative division), territorial/administrative division in some countries, notably Switzerland
* Township (Canada), known as ''canton'' in Canadian French
Arts and ente ...
) by the department's inhabitants for six-year terms (no term limits). The president of the Departmental Council is Georges Siffredi, elected in 2020.
Presidential elections 2nd round
National representation
Hauts-de-Seine elected the following members of the National Assembly
In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the r ...
in the 2017 legislative election:
In the Senate, Hauts-de-Seine is represented by:
* André Gattolin (LREM
Renaissance (RE), previously known as La République En Marche ! (frequently abbreviated LREM, LaREM or REM; translated as "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward"), or sometimes called simply En Marche ! () as its original name, is a l ...
), since 2011
* Xavier Iacovelli (LREM
Renaissance (RE), previously known as La République En Marche ! (frequently abbreviated LREM, LaREM or REM; translated as "The Republic on the Move" or "Republic Forward"), or sometimes called simply En Marche ! () as its original name, is a l ...
), since 2017
* Roger Karoutchi
Roger Karoutchi (born 26 August 1951) is a French teacher and politician who has been serving as the first Vice President of the Senate since 2020. He previously served as the French Ambassador to the OECD'Karoutchi ambassadeur auprès de l'OCD ...
( LR), since 2009
* Christine Lavarde ( LR), since 2017
* Hervé Marseille (UDI Udi may refer to:
Places
* Udi, Enugu, a local government areas and city in Nigeria
* Udi, a place in the Etawah district of Uttar Pradesh, India
People
* Udi Gal (born 1979), Israeli Olympic sailor
* Udi Vaks (born 1979), Israeli Olympic judoka ...
), since 2011
* Pierre Ouzoulias
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
( PCF), since 2017
* Philippe Pemezec ( LR), since 2017
Tourism
File:Château de Malmaison - Appartement de Joséphine 001.jpg, Empress Joséphine's bedroom at the Château de Malmaison
File:Grande Fontaine @ Domaine national de Saint-Cloud (28222813252).jpg, Grande Fontaine of the Parc de Saint-Cloud
File:Sèvres, Cité de la céramique.jpg, Cité de la céramique in Sèvres
File:Le jardin japonais Albert Khan (Boulogne-Billancourt) (5996734603).jpg, Japanese garden at the Musée Albert-Kahn
The Musée Albert-Kahn is a departmental museum in Boulogne-Billancourt, France, at 14, rue du Port, including four hectares of gardens, joining landscape scenes of various national traditions. The museum includes historical photographs and films ...
in Boulogne-Billancourt
Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...
File:Locomotive 020 Decauville.JPG, Decauville 0-4-0
Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, represents one of the simplest possible types, that with two axles and four coupled wheels, all of which are driven. The wheels on the earliest four-coupled locomotives were ...
wt steam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the loco ...
, Hauts-de-Seine, France
References
External links
*
Website of the Departmental council
*
Prefecture website
{{Authority control
1968 establishments in France
Île-de-France region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Departments of Île-de-France
States and territories established in 1968