Chelles () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the eastern suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

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 ...

. It is located in the

Seine-et-Marne Seine-et-Marne () is a department in the Île-de-France region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square kilometres (2,284 square miles); it roughly covers its ...

department in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

from the center of Paris.

History

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic (), also called the Old Stone Age (from Greek: παλαιός '' palaios'', "old" and λίθος ''lithos'', "stone"), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone too ...

artifacts were discovered by chance at Chelles by the pioneering nineteenth-century anthropologist

Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet (29 August 1821 – 25 September 1898), French archaeologist and anthropologist, was born at Meylan, Isère. Biography Mortillet was educated at the Jesuit college of Chambéry and at the Paris Conservatoire. ...

(1821–1898); he named the corresponding cultural stage of the Paleolithic after the commune: «

Chellean Abbevillian (formerly also ''Chellean'') is a term for the oldest lithic industry found in Europe, dated to between roughly 600,000 and 400,000 years ago. The original artifacts were collected from road construction sites on the Somme river nea ...

» or «

Chellian In geology, and archeology, Chellian or Chellean was the name given by the French anthropologist G. de Mortillet to the first epoch of the Quaternary period when the earliest human remains were discovered. The word is derived from the French tow ...

», nowadays known as «

Oldowan The Oldowan (or Mode I) was a widespread stone tool archaeological industry (style) in prehistory. These early tools were simple, usually made with one or a few flakes chipped off with another stone. Oldowan tools were used during the Lower ...

». At the Merovingian villa of ''Calae'' the abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Chelles was founded by

Balthild Balthild (; ang, Bealdhild, 'bold sword' or 'bold spear; around 626 – 30 January 680), also spelled Bathilda, Bauthieult or Baudour, was queen consort of Neustria and Burgundy by marriage to Clovis II, the King of Neustria and Burgundy (639 ...

, a seventh-century queen of the Franks. It was largely demolished at the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

Geography

There are two main streets in Chelles, Avenue Foch and Avenue de la Résistance.

Demographics

The inhabitants are called ''Chellois''.

Transport

Chelles is served by Chelles–Gournay station on Paris RER line and on the

Transilien Transilien () is the brand name given to the commuter rail network serving Île-de-France, the region surrounding and including the city of Paris. The network consists of eight lines: H, J, K, L, N, U, P and R, each operated by SNCF, th ...

Paris-Est suburban rail line .

Education

the commune has 13,000 students in 46 public and private schools. The commune includes 19 public preschools and 16 public elementary schools. There are also: *Four public junior high schools: Collège Beau soleil, Collège Corot, Collège de l’Europe, and Collège Weczerka - Beau Soleil and de l'Europe have Enseignement Général Professionnel Adapté (S.E.G.P.A) programmesCollèges
" Chelles. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. *Three public senior high schools/sixth-form colleges,

Lycée Gaston Bachelard In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Lycée Professionnel Louis Lumière In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

, and

Lycée Jehan de Chelles In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Lycées
" Chelles. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. *One private school - Institution Gasnier Guy, with private preschool and elementary school (Gasnier Guy / Ste Bathilde), junior high school (Collège Gasnier Guy), and senior high school (Lycée Gasnier Guy) divisions Chelles includes a library, Bibliothèque Olympe de Gouges, and a media centre, Médiathèque Jean-Pierre Vernant.

Culture and recreation

The commune includes the Musée Alfred-Bonno. There is also a public swimming pool, and a public skate park which opened in 1999.Skatepark
" Chelles. Retrieved on September 6, 2016. Chelles is town twinned with the city of Lindau (Germany)

Gallery

File:Chelles parc Emile-Fouchard pano-1.jpg, Parc Emile Fouchard File:Chelles ile Refuge.jpg, Île Refuge, in the Marne river, is part of the Local Nature Reserve of the islands of Chelles File:Gournay-sur-Marne - Bridge.jpg, File:Bus312 213 garechellesallée.jpg, Chelles-Gournay train station File:Borne fleurdelysée 9, point km 18, Chelles, Seine-et-Marne.jpg, Where Roi Chilpéric was assassinated File:Chelles - Bibliotheque Georges Brassens.jpg, Georges Brassens Chelles Library File:Eglise de Chelles et son cimetière.jpg, Saint-André Church and Cemetery File:Ecole maternelle Curie.jpg, Curie nursery File:Chelles - Avenue de la Resistance.jpg, Avenue de la Résistance