Issy-les-Moulineaux () is a commune in the southwestern suburban area of Paris, France, lying on the left bank of 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 ...

. Its citizens are called in French. It is one of Paris's entrances and is located from

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

, which is considered Kilometre Zero in France. On 1 January 2010, Issy-les-Moulineaux became part of the ''Grand Paris Seine Ouest'' agglomeration community, which merged into the

Métropole du Grand Paris A (; French for "metropolis") is an administrative entity in France, in which several communes in France, communes cooperate, and which has the right to Taxation in France, levy local tax, an ''établissement public de coopération intercommunal ...

in January 2016. Issy-les-Moulineaux has successfully moved its economy from an old manufacturing base to high

value-added service A value-added service (VAS) is a popular telecommunications industry{{cite web, url=https://www.prweb.com/releases/global_mobile_value_added_services_vas_market_worldwide_industry_share_investment_trends_growth_size_strategy_and_forecast_research_ ...

sectors and is at the heart of the

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 ...

business district Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or buying and selling products (such as goods and services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for profit." A business entity is not necessar ...

, the largest cluster of telecommunication and media businesses in France, hosting the headquarters of most major French television networks.

Geography

Issy-les-Moulineaux is a municipality located on the edge of the 15th arrondissement 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 ...

, along the main axis between Paris and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; ) is a former royal residence commissioned by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, Yvelines, Versailles, about west of Paris, in the Yvelines, Yvelines Department of Île-de-France, Île-de-France region in Franc ...

, and on the left bank of the Seine. The town is situated southwest of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, the central point of France's road network, and from the town hall of the 15th arrondissement. It is positioned east of the sub-prefecture

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 ...

and southeast of the prefecture of

Nanterre Nanterre (; ) is the prefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department in the western suburbs of Paris, France. 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, b ...

. Within its territory, Issy-les-Moulineaux encompasses the

Île Saint-Germain Île Saint-Germain () is an island located in the Seine in Issy-les-Moulineaux in the département of Hauts-de-Seine near Paris, France. It once housed a military camp that was later abandoned, but the island was redeveloped in 1980. The island ...

, an island in the

Name

Originally, Issy-les-Moulineaux was simply called Issy. The name Issy comes from the

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 ...

''Issiacum'' or ''Isciacum'', perhaps meaning "estate of Isicius (or Iccius)", a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

landowner, although some think the name comes from a

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

radical Radical (from Latin: ', root) may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Classical radicalism, the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and Latin America in the 19th century *Radical politics ...

meaning "under the wood". Local legend recounted on the city's official website mentions an alternative origin of the name arising from a temple of the Egyptian goddess

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

said to be under the site of the Church of Saint Stephen. In 1893 Issy officially became Issy-les-Moulineaux. Les Moulineaux was the name of a hamlet on the territory of the commune, apparently named Les Moulineaux due to the water mill or mills () that stood there.

History

In July 1815 the

Battle of Issy A battle is an occurrence of combat in warfare between opposing military units of any number or size. A war usually consists of multiple battles. In general, a battle is a military engagement that is well defined in duration, area, and force ...

was fought in and around the village between

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

n and French forces. It was one of the last actions of the '

Hundred Days The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

' campaign and was the final attempt to defend Paris against the armies of the

Seventh Coalition The Hundred Days ( ), also known as the War of the Seventh Coalition (), marked the period between Napoleon's return from eleven months of exile on the island of Elba to Paris on20 March 1815 and the second restoration of King Louis XVIII o ...

. On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, about a third of the commune of Issy-les-Moulineaux was annexed to Paris, and forms now the neighborhood of Javel, in the 15th arrondissement. The town was once the location of the

Château d'Issy The Château d'Issy, at Issy-les-Moulineaux, in the Hauts-de-Seine department of France, was a small French Baroque château on the outskirts of Paris. It was destroyed during the Paris Commune of 1871. History The small plot of land was boug ...

, former home of the

Princes of Conti Prince of Conti (French: ''prince de Conti'') was a French noble title, assumed by a cadet branch of the princely house of Princes of Condé, Bourbon-Condé. History The title derives its name from Conty, a small town in northern France, c. 35&nb ...

. It was destroyed in 1871, Issy-les-Moulineaux is home to a community of 5,000

Armenians Armenians (, ) are an ethnic group indigenous to the Armenian highlands of West Asia.Robert Hewsen, Hewsen, Robert H. "The Geography of Armenia" in ''The Armenian People From Ancient to Modern Times Volume I: The Dynastic Periods: From Antiq ...

that have established themselves in the area since the 1930s. The community has two Armenian churches, an athletic club, a school, a monument dedicated to the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

, and streets named after

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, ''Rue d'Armenie'', and ''Rue d'Erevan'', named after Armenia's capital

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , ; ; sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia, as well as one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Yerev ...

. Issy-les-Moulineaux became twin cities with

Echmiadzin Vagharshapat ( ) is the 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border. It is commonly known as Ejmiatsin ...

, Armenia in December 1989. The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1895.

Airfield

In the late 19th century, an expansive field in Issy was dedicated to military exercises. This land, owned by the

French Army The French Army, officially known as the Land Army (, , ), is the principal Army, land warfare force of France, and the largest component of the French Armed Forces; it is responsible to the Government of France, alongside the French Navy, Fren ...

, was made into an airfield in the early 1900s during the pioneering era of aviation. Issy-les-Moulineaux soon became a hot spot for aviation in France, the most active airfield in Paris, and the site of many flight experiments. Photographers, newspaper reporters and intelligence agents from other countries gathered there to report on developments. The airfield of Issy-les-Moulineaux was the starting point of the 1911 Paris to Madrid air race. One of the competing planes crashed into the audience during take-off, killing the French

Minister of War A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

Henri Maurice Berteaux Henri Maurice Berteaux (3 June 1852 – 21 May 1911) was the Minister of Defence (France), Minister of War in France from November 1904 to November 1905, and from 2 March 1911 until his accidental death on 21 May 1911. Biography Berteaux was b ...

. It hosted the

trap shooting Trap shooting is one of the three major disciplines of competitive clay pigeon shooting. The other disciplines are skeet shooting and sporting clays. Trap shooting is distinguished by the targets being launched from a single "house" or machine, ...

events for the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

. The firm of ''

Appareils d'Aviation Les Frères Voisin Aéroplanes Voisin was a French aircraft manufacturing company established in 1905 by Gabriel Voisin and his brother Charles Voisin, Charles, and was continued by Gabriel after Charles died in an automobile accident in 1912; the full official co ...

'', opened the world's first commercial airplane factory in 1908 in neighborin

. The firm transformed itself into a luxury automobile manufacturing company named

Avions Voisin Avions Voisin was a French luxury automobile brand established by Gabriel Voisin in 1919 which traded until 1939. History Gabriel B. Voisin was an aviation pioneer and manufacturer who in 1919 started producing cars using Knight Engine, ...

in 1920. Most of Voisin's manufacturing facilities were then relocated to Issy-les-Moulineaux. Avions Voisin closed its doors in 1940. The last

fixed-wing aircraft A fixed-wing aircraft is a heavier-than-air aircraft, such as an airplane, which is capable of flight using aerodynamic lift. Fixed-wing aircraft are distinct from rotary-wing aircraft (in which a rotor mounted on a spinning shaft generate ...

flight at ssy-les-Moulineaux occurred in 1953, after which the aerodrome handled only

helicopter A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which Lift (force), lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning Helicopter rotor, rotors. This allows the helicopter to VTOL, take off and land vertically, to hover (helicopter), hover, and ...

s; it continues to do this, with the

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

code LFPI. It is operated by Aéroports de Paris.

Demographics

Immigration

Politics and administration

Since the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015, Issy forms one canton: Canton of Issy-les-Moulineaux.

List of mayors

Economy

Eurosport Eurosport is a group of pay television networks in Europe and parts of Asia, owned and operated by Warner Bros. Discovery through its WBD Sports unit, it operates two main channels—Eurosport 1 and Eurosport 2—across most of its territorie ...

, the

Canal+ Group Canal+ S.A., formerly Groupe Canal+, is a French Media conglomerate, media and telecommunications Conglomerate (company), conglomerate based in Paris. It runs its own Canal+ (streaming service), eponymous Over-the-top media service, over-the-to ...

, Coca-Cola France,

France 24 France 24 ( in French) is a French state-owned publicly funded international news television network based in Paris. Its channels, broadcast in French, English, Arabic and Spanish, are aimed at the overseas market. Based in the Paris suburb ...

, Jet Solidaire,

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

France and Europe,

Sodexo Sodexo (formerly Sodexho Alliance) is a French food services and facilities management company headquartered in the Paris suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. It has 522,000 employees as of 2023, operates in 55 countries and serves 100 million custome ...

Icade ICADE is the brand name by which two schools of the Comillas Pontifical University, located in Madrid (Spain), are known. It stands for '' Instituto Católico de Administración y Dirección de Empresas'' (''Catholic Institute of Business Adminis ...

Technicolor SA Vantiva SA (formerly Technicolor SA, Thomson SARL, Thomson SA, and Thomson Multimedia) is a French multinational corporation that provides technology products and services for the communication, media and entertainment industries. Headquarter ...

and Withings are based in Issy-les-Moulineaux.

Transport

Issy-les-Moulineaux is served by two stations on

Paris Métro Line 12 Paris Métro Line 12 (opened as Line A; French language, French: ''Ligne 12 du métro de Paris'') is one of the sixteen lines of the Paris Métro. It links Issy-les-Moulineaux, a suburban town southwest of Paris, to Aubervilliers, in the north. ...

: Corentin Celton and Mairie d'Issy, two stations on Paris

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 ...

: Issy–Val de Seine and Issy and three stations on

Île-de-France tramway Line 2 Île-de-France tramway Line 2 (T2; French language, French: ''Ligne 2 du tramway d'Île-de-France'') is part of the modern Tramways in Île-de-France, tram network of the Île-de-France region of France. It connects the Communes of France, commu ...

: Les Moulineaux, Jacques-Henri Lartigue and Issy–Val de Seine. Multiple RATP

bus A bus (contracted from omnibus, with variants multibus, motorbus, autobus, etc.) is a motor vehicle that carries significantly more passengers than an average car or van, but fewer than the average rail transport. It is most commonly used ...

lines have stops or their arrival/departure

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

in the city. Multiple

Vélib' is a large-scale public bicycle sharing system in Paris, France. The system encompasses more than 16,000 bikes and 1,400 stations. The name ''Vélib is a portmanteau of the French words ''vélo'' (''"bicycle"'') and ''liberté'' ("freedom"). ...

and Autolib' stations allow subscribers of those services to share bicycles or electric cars. There was also a cable car project, abandoned in February 2008.

Education

The commune has 17 public preschools, 16 public elementary schools. four public junior high schools, one public senior high school, and three private schools. Junior high schools: * Collège de la Paix * Collège Henri Matisse * Collège Georges Mandel * Collège Victor Hugo Lycée Eugène-Ionesco is the community's public senior high school. Private schools: * Groupe scolaire La Salle Saint Nicolas (junior and senior high school) * École Arménienne « TARKMANTCHATZ » (preschool and elementary school) - An

Armenian Armenian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Armenia, a country in the South Caucasus region of Eurasia * Armenians, the national people of Armenia, or people of Armenian descent ** Armenian diaspora, Armenian communities around the ...

school * École Sainte-Clotilde (preschool and elementary school)

Notable people

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, rapper *

Leïla Bekhti Yasmine Leïla Bekhti (born 6 March 1984) is a French film and television actress. She is best known for her roles in '' Tout ce qui brille'' (2010) and, in 2006, '' Paris, je t'aime'' and '' Sheitan''. Early life Bekhti was born in 1984 in Iss ...

, actress * Mickaël Brisset, footballer * Robert Charpentier, cyclist * Christelle Diallo, basketball player * Peter Leo Gerety, (19 July 1912 – 20 September 2016), Roman Catholic Archbishop * Jean Jansem, painter * Rahavi Kifouéti, footballer * Manu Larcenet, comics writer *

Sandrine Piau Sandrine Piau (born 5 June 1965) is a French soprano. She is particularly renowned in Baroque music although also excels in Romantic and modernist art songs. She has the versatility to perform works from Vivaldi, Handel, Mozart to Schumann, Deb ...

, soprano *

Melchisédech Thévenot Melchisédech or Melchisédec Thévenot (29 October 1692) was a French author, scientist, traveller, cartographer, orientalist, inventor, and diplomat. He was the inventor of the spirit level and is also famous for his popular posthumously publ ...

(c. 1620–1692), inventor of the spirit level * Gilles Vincent, (born 1958), writer * Hamidou Tangara (born 1976), footballer

Twin towns – sister cities

Issy-les-Moulineaux is twinned with: *

Weiden in der Oberpfalz Weiden in der Oberpfalz (, ; official abbreviation: Weiden i.d.OPf.; Northern Bavarian: ''Weidn in da Owapfalz'') is a district-free city in Bavaria, Germany. It is located east of Nuremberg and west of the Czech border. Weiden is the second b ...

, Germany (1962) *

Frameries Frameries (; ; ) is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, province of Hainaut, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following deelgemeente, districts: Eugies, Frameries, La Bouverie, Noirchai ...

, Belgium (1979) *

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

, Italy (1982) *

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

, England, United Kingdom (1982) *

Dapaong Dapaong (also known as Dapaongo or Dapango) is a city in northern Togo and prefecture seat of Tône in the Savanes Region, of which it is also the capital. It had a population of 58,071 at the 2010 Census. It is situated 638 km north of th ...

, Togo (1989) *

Vagharshapat Vagharshapat ( ) is the List of cities and towns in Armenia, 5th-largest city in Armenia and the most populous municipal community of Armavir Province, located about west of the capital Yerevan, and north of the closed Turkish-Armenian border ...

, Armenia (1989) *

Pozuelo de Alarcón Pozuelo de Alarcón () is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Bordering the Moncloa-Aravaca district of Madrid proper to its west, Pozuelo de Alarcón is surrounded by large Mediterranean pine-tree forests: the Casa de Campo, the M ...

, Spain (1990) *

Nahariya Nahariya () is the northernmost coastal city in Israel. As of , the city had a population of . The city was founded in 1935 by Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany. Etymology Nahariya takes its name from the stream of Ga'aton River, Ga'aton (riv ...

, Israel (1994) * Dongcheng (Beijing), China (1997) *

Leshan Leshan, formerly known as Jiading and Jiazhou, is a prefecture-level city located at the confluence of the Dadu River, Dadu and Min River (Sichuan), Min rivers, on the southwestern fringe of the Sichuan Basin in southern Sichuan, about from the ...

, China (2003) * Guro (Seoul), South Korea (2005) * Ichikawa, Japan (2012) *

Huntsville Huntsville is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alabama. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2024, making it the 100th-most populous city in the U.S. The Huntsville metropolitan area had an estimated 525,465 ...

, Alabama, United States (2023) Since 2018, Issy-les-Moulineaux also has friendly relations with New Julfa (Isfahan), Iran.

Sites of interest

, an island located in the Seine. The island is divided into two parts, the urban side includes the offices and a residential area. The other side includes a park with the ''

Tour aux Figures Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed ...

'' (Tower of Figures

by

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (; 31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor of the School of Paris, École de Paris (School of Paris). His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" a ...

. The

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 ...

is downstream. *

Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer The Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer () is a museum of playing cards in Paris, France. It is located at 16, rue Auguste Gervais, in the suburb of Issy-les-Moulineaux. Nearby is Mairie d'Issy station, the southern terminus of Paris Métro Li ...

, a museum of

playing card A playing card is a piece of specially prepared card stock, heavy paper, thin cardboard, plastic-coated paper, cotton-paper blend, or thin plastic that is marked with distinguishing motifs. Often the front (face) and back of each card has a f ...

Gallery

Image:Issy-les-Moulineaux mairie.jpg, City hall of Issy-les-Moulineaux ''(Mairie d'Issy)'' Image:Villa-haussmann.jpg, Villa Haussmann (modern copy of architecture in the style of

Georges-Eugène Haussmann Georges-Eugène Haussmann (; 27 March 180911 January 1891), commonly known as Baron Haussmann, was a French official who served as prefect of Seine (1853–1870), chosen by Emperor Napoleon III to carry out a massive urban renewal programme of n ...

) in Issy-les-Moulineaux Image:Issy seminaire Saint-Sulpice avec bassin.jpg, Saint-Sulpice Seminary, between Corentin Celton and Mairie d'Issy metro stations Image:Issy 6.JPG, Rue Ernest Renan in Issy-les-Moulineaux, nearby Corentin Celton metro station Image:IssyValSeine.jpg, Issy Val-de-Seine business district Image:Metro - Paris - Ligne 12 - Mairie d Issy MF67.jpg, Mairie d'Issy metro station ( Line 12)

External Sources

World War I Belgian Refugees: Comite Franco-American pour la Protection des Enfants de la Frontiere -- Izzy-le-Moulineux

References

External links

Issy City Hall

Issy Tourism Office

Issy TV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Issylesmoulineaux Venues of the 1924 Summer Olympics Olympic shooting venues Communes of Hauts-de-Seine Armenian diaspora communities Articles containing video clips Hauts-de-Seine communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia