Essonne () is a

department of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety ...

in the southern

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 ...

. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.Populations légales 2019: 91 Essonne
INSEE Essonne was formed on 1 January 1968 when

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.prefecture is

Évry-Courcouronnes Évry-Courcouronnes () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, prefecture of the department of Essonne. It was established on 1 January 2019 from the amalgamation of the communes of Évry and Courcouronnes. The city is the home ...

. Its INSEE and postcode number is 91.

History

The Essonne department was created on 1 January 1968, from the southern portion of the former department of

Seine-et-Oise Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.Carrefour S.A. opened the first hypermarket in the Paris region at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (although the word "hypermarché" was first used only in 1966). Based on the ideas put forward by the American logistics pioneer Bernardo Trujillo, the centre offered on a single site a hitherto unknown combination of wide choice and low prices, supported by 400 car parking spaces. In 1969, the

communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, relig ...

of Châteaufort and

Toussus-le-Noble Toussus-le-Noble () is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. History In 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from the Essonne department and added to Yvelin ...

were separated from Essonne and added to the department of

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.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 ...

. It has borders with the departments of: * Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne to the north, *

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 ...

to the east, * Loiret to the south, * Eure-et-Loir and

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.Évry-Courcouronnes Évry-Courcouronnes () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, prefecture of the department of Essonne. It was established on 1 January 2019 from the amalgamation of the communes of Évry and Courcouronnes. The city is the home ...

, the prefecture. As of 2019, the 5 most populous communes are: In descending order, the other communes over 25,000 population are:

Athis-Mons Athis-Mons () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants are called ''Athégiens''. A small part of Orly International Airport lies on the territory of the commune of Athis-Mo ...

Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Inhabitants of Palaiseau ar ...

, Vigneux-sur-Seine,

Viry-Châtillon Viry-Châtillon () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Inhabitants of Viry-Châtillon are known as ''Castelvirois'' in French. Sports The town is home to the women's f ...

, Ris-Orangis, Yerres,

Draveil Draveil () is a commune in the department of Essonne in the southern suburbs of Paris, France.Grigny, Brétigny-sur-Orge, Étampes,

Brunoy Brunoy () is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The tenor Louis Nourrit (1780–1831) died in Brunoy. The city has a church Saint-Medard, richly decorated in the Lou ...

and

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris. Location Les Ulis is a new town located in the Île-de-France, in the south-west of the P ...

Milly-la-Forêt Milly-la-Forêt () is a commune in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region in northern France. Geology The Forest of Fontainebleau, in the western end of which Milly-la-Forêt lies, is composed of the Oligocene Fontainebleau sands, ...

is a notable example of its more rural communes.

Main sights

*The

École Polytechnique École may refer to: * an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by secondary education establishments (collège and lycée) * École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région Île-de-France * École, Savoi ...

. Founded in 1794, L'Ecole Polytechnique is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. This university was ranked 10th in the world by the

Times Higher Education Supplement ''Times Higher Education'' (''THE''), formerly ''The Times Higher Education Supplement'' (''The Thes''), is a British magazine reporting specifically on news and issues related to higher education. Ownership TPG Capital acquired TSL Education ...

in 2005. Its campus is in the town of

. * Paris-Sud University. One of the best public schools in France, it is ranked 52nd by Academic Ranking of World Universities. It is best known for its mathematics department. Located in

Orsay Orsay () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. A fortified location of the Chevreuse valley since the 8th centur ...

, Essonne, about 26,000 students are enrolled. *The Headquarters of the

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It undertakes the operation and marketing of the Ariane programme. The company offers a number of different launch vehicles: the heavy ...

Company, a major commercial aerospace launcher, servicing companies who wish to launch satellites into space. *Château de Montlhéry. Originally having been an ancient fort during Roman times, the first feudal lords began to inhabit the castle around 1000 AD. One major battle was fought in the castle during its lifetime. In 1465, Charles the Rash and French King

Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...

fought in the plains in front of the castle. In 1842, the reconstruction of the castle was started, and currently is being maintained by the local town of Montlhery * Château de Courances * The Forest of Sénart. Covering 3,500 hectares in area, this forest is very important to the local population. The local government has kept roads and agricultural companies from cutting down parts of this forest. The forest receives between two and three million visitors annually, and the government spends 1.2 million euros a year maintaining it. *

Telecom Sudparis Télécom SudParis (formerly known as Télécom INT) is one of the top French engineering schools (public institutions) of higher education and research (French: Grandes Écoles) that award engineering degrees in France. It produces engineers wit ...

. Situated in Évry, this is a grande école for engineers

Politics

The department's most high-profile political representative has been

Manuel Valls Manuel Carlos Valls Galfetti (, , ; born 13 August 1962) is a French-Spanish politician who has served as a Barcelona city councillor from 2019 to 2021. He served as Prime Minister of France from 2014 until 2016 under president François Hol ...

, Prime Minister of France from 31 March 2014 to 6 December 2016. He visited its main town Évry to deliver remarks following the

Charlie Hebdo massacre On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French List of satirical magazines, satirical weekly newspaper ''Charlie H ...

of January 2015. The president of the Departmental Council is François Durovray, elected in 2015.

Presidential election, second round

Members of the National Assembly

Demographics

Population development since 1876:

Place of birth of residents

Tourism

File:France Essonne Etampes Hotel de Ville 02.jpg, Étampes File:Dourdan (91), château, châtelet, côté cour 2.JPG, Château de Dourdan File:FranceEnglandCard2 317.jpg, Château de Montlhéry File:Lormoy Castle Under Snow (260224015).jpeg,

Longpont-sur-Orge Longpont-sur-Orge (, literally ''Longpont on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. From 1954 to 1962, the villa in Longpont-sur-Orge owned by William and Noma Copley served as a social hub and a ...

File:Milly La Forêt-Le château.jpg, Milly La Forêt

Sister regions

Essonne is twinned with: *

Ibaraki Prefecture is a prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Ibaraki Prefecture has a population of 2,871,199 (1 June 2019) and has a geographic area of . Ibaraki Prefecture borders Fukushima Prefecture to the north, Tochigi Prefecture ...

, Japan (since 1986)

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental council website
{{Authority control 1968 establishments in France Departments of Île-de-France States and territories established in 1968