Arcueil () is a
commune in the
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 ...
department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the
center of Paris.
Name

The name Arcueil was recorded for the first time in 1119 as ''Arcoloï'', and later in the 12th century as ''Arcoïalum'', meaning "place of the arches" (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...
radical ''arcus'', "arch", and
Celtic suffix ''-ialo'', "clearing, glade", "place of"), in reference to the
Roman aqueduct
The Romans constructed aqueducts throughout their Republic and later Empire, to bring water from outside sources into cities and towns. Aqueduct water supplied public baths, latrines, fountains, and private households; it also supported min ...
carrying water to the Roman city of ''
Lutetia
The Gallo-Roman town of ''Lutetia'' (''Lutetia Parisiorum'' in Latin, in French ''Lutèce'') was the predecessor of the modern-day city of Paris. It was founded in about the middle of the 3rd century BCE by the Parisii, a Gallic tribe. Trace ...
'' (modern Paris). Still standing, the arches of the Roman aqueduct are still visible since the Middle Ages, crossing the
Bièvre valley near Arcueil.
History
Between 1613 and 1624 a bridge-aqueduct over 1300 ft. long was constructed to convey water from the spring of
Rungis
Rungis () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, in the ''département'' of Val-de-Marne.
It is best known as the location of the large wholesale food market serving the Paris metropolitan area and beyond, the '' Marché d'Int� ...
, south of Arcueil, across the river
Bièvre to the
Luxembourg Palace
The Luxembourg Palace (french: Palais du Luxembourg, ) is at 15 Rue de Vaugirard in the 6th arrondissement of Paris. It was originally built (1615–1645) to the designs of the French architect Salomon de Brosse to be the royal residence of t ...
in Paris. Between 1868 and 1872 another aqueduct, still longer, was superimposed above that of the 17th century, forming part of the system conveying water from the river
Vanne
Vanne () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
See also
*Communes of the Haute-Saône department
The following is a list of the 539 communes in the French department of Haut ...
to Paris.
The commune of Arcueil was officially renamed ''Arcueil-Cachan'' in 1894, after the hamlet of
Cachan
Cachan () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.
The prestigious École normale supérieure Paris-Saclay and École Spéciale des Travaux Publics are located there.
Name
During the Middl ...
located within the commune. On 26 December 1922, Cachan seceded from the commune of ''Arcueil-Cachan'' and became a commune in its own right. The reduced commune of ''Arcueil-Cachan'' was renamed simply Arcueil.
Economy
Orange France
Orange S.A. (), formerly France Télécom S.A. (stylized as france telecom) is a French multinational corporation, multinational telecommunications corporation. It has 266 million customers worldwide and employs 89,000 people in France, and 5 ...
, formerly France Télécom S.A., has its headquarters in Arcueil.
Transport
Arcueil is served by two stations on Paris
RER line B:
Laplace
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summariz ...
and
Arcueil-Cachan.
Education
Primary schools:
* Five preschools: Henri Barbusse, Danielle Casanova, Jules Ferry, Olympe de Gouges, and Pauline Kergomard
* Five elementary schools: Henri Barbusse, Jules Ferry, Olympe de Gouges, Aimé Césaire, and Jean Macé
There is one junior high school, Collège Dulcie September and an engineering College, the
.
Residents are served by the
Lycée intercommunal Darius-Milhaud
Lycée intercommunal Darius Milhaud is a senior high school in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, France, in the Paris metropolitan area. It serves residents of the communes of Le Kremlin-Bicêtre, Arcueil, Gentilly, and Villejuif, in Val-de-Marne. It is named ...
in
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre is most famous as the location of the Bicêtre ...
.
Personalities
*
Jean-Antoine de Baïf
Jean Antoine de Baïf (; 19 February 1532 – 19 September 1589) was a French poet and member of the '' Pléiade''.
Life
Jean Antoine de Baïf was born in Venice, the natural son of the scholar Lazare de Baïf, who was at that time French am ...
(1532–1589), member of the "Pléiade".
[''Arcueil, rue d'hier et d'aujourd'hui''. Arcueil: Centre Culturel Communal Erik Satie, 2006 ]
*
Adrienne Bolland
Adrienne Bolland, born Boland, (25 November 1895 – 18 March 1975) was a French test pilot. She was the first woman to fly over the Andes between Chile and Argentina. She was later described as "France's most accomplished female aviator", set ...
(1895–1975), first woman to fly an airplane across the
Andes
The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...
, was born in Arcueil.
*
Claude Louis Berthollet
Claude Louis Berthollet (, 9 December 1748 – 6 November 1822) was a Savoyard-French chemist who became vice president of the French Senate in 1804. He is known for his scientific contributions to theory of chemical equilibria via the mecha ...
(1748–1822), chemist.
*
Michel Bulteau
Michel Bulteau is a French poet, essayist, occasional musician and experimental filmmaker, born on 8 October 1949 in Arcueil.
Biography
When he was twenty-two, he contributed with seventeen other young poets, including Matthieu Messagier, Jean- ...
, writer and cult film maker, is a native of Arcueil.
*
Pierre
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 ...
and
Marie Curie
Marie Salomea Skłodowska–Curie ( , , ; born Maria Salomea Skłodowska, ; 7 November 1867 – 4 July 1934) was a Polish and naturalized-French physicist and chemist who conducted pioneering research on radioactivity. She was the first ...
installed at Arcueil an annex of the
Institut du Radium for the chemical treatment of radioactive elements.
*
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier (; born 24 April 1952) is a French haute couture and prêt-à-porter fashion designer. He is described as an "enfant terrible" of the fashion industry and is known for his unconventional designs with motifs including corsets, ...
, fashion designer.
*
Pierre-Simon de Laplace
Pierre-Simon, marquis de Laplace (; ; 23 March 1749 – 5 March 1827) was a French scholar and polymath whose work was important to the development of engineering, mathematics, statistics, physics, astronomy, and philosophy. He summariz ...
(1749–1827), mathematician, astronomer and physicist.
*
Henri Rousseau
Henri Julien Félix Rousseau (; 21 May 1844 – 2 September 1910)
at the Marquis de Sade
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade (; 2 June 1740 – 2 December 1814), was a French nobleman, revolutionary politician, philosopher and writer famous for his literary depictions of a libertine sexuality as well as numerous accusat ...
, writer and libertine.
*
Erik Satie
Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an un ...
, composer, lived in Arcueil from 1898 to 1925. He is buried in the town.
*
Dulcie September
Dulcie Evonne September (20 August 1935 – 29 March 1988) was a South African anti-apartheid political activist. Born in Athlone, Western Cape, South Africa, she was assassinated in Paris, France.
Early life
The second eldest daughter of Jako ...
, of the
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid election install ...
, when living in France lodged in Arcueil; an Arcueil high school is named after her.
[http://www.westerncape.gov.za/eng/pubs/news/2006/jun/137558 Cape of Good Hope Gateway article]
Population
See also
*
Society of Arcueil The Society of Arcueil was a circle of French scientists who met regularly on summer weekends between 1806 and 1822 at the country houses of Claude Louis Berthollet and Pierre Simon Laplace at Arcueil, then a village 3 miles south of Paris.
Membe ...
*
Communes of the Val-de-Marne department
This page lists the 47 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 comm ...
*
:fr:Aqueducs d'Arcueil et de Cachan French Wiki article on the history of the 3 aqueducts
References
External links
Official website
Arcueil Business Theatre
{{Authority control
Communes of Val-de-Marne