Draveil () is a commune in the

Essonne Essonne () is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.department in the southern outer suburbs 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 ...

, France.Commune de Draveil (91201)
INSEE It is located from the centre of Paris at Notre-Dame. In 2021, it had a population of 29,173. It was formally twinned with

Hove Hove ( ) is a seaside resort in East Sussex, England. Alongside Brighton, it is one of the two main parts of the city of Brighton and Hove. Originally a fishing village surrounded by open farmland, it grew rapidly in the 19th century in respon ...

East Sussex East Sussex is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Kent to the north-east, West Sussex to the west, Surrey to the north-west, and the English Channel to the south. The largest settlement ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. With a score of 7.16/10, Draveil ranks 49th among the 100 best French towns with a population of over 20,000 inhabitants. This result is a survey conducted permanently among the French population and takes into account the following factors : environment, security, medical facilities, cultural events, sports, shops and transport.

Geography

Draveil is situated between the right bank of the

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 ...

and the Forest of Sénart which gives the whole town a very green environment. In fact, the official motto of the town in Latin is "Inter undas et arbores", which can be translated into English as "between water and trees", a reference to its location between the Seine and the Forest of Sénart. Hardly a third of Draveil's area has been developed, thus offering a preserved environment to its inhabitants. Draveil also hosts a large green park called the "Base de loisirs du Port-aux-Cerises" that covers over 175 hectares including trees, lakes and activity areas including a horse-riding club, an amusement park for children, an open-air swimming-pool, football field, tennis courts, acrobranche rope park, a small marina with berthing space for about thirty boats, etc. Draveil consists of the main town Draveil, the former villages Champrosay and Mainville, and several newer housing developments. Champrosay was home to several artists in the 19th and early 20th century, including painters Marie Laurencin and

Eugène Delacroix Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( ; ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French people, French Romanticism, Romantic artist who was regarded as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: ...

and writer

Alphonse Daudet Alphonse Daudet (; 13 May 184016 December 1897) was a French novelist. He was the husband of Julia Daudet and father of Edmée, Léon and Lucien Daudet. Early life Daudet was born in Nîmes, France. His family, on both sides, belonged to the ' ...

History

Human presence in Draveil during the Neolithic period is suggested by the discovery of a menhir called the "Pierre à Mousseaux" dating from the fourth millennium BC and confirmed by the presence of tools and weapons in flint cut found in the Mainville quarter of Draveil. The Gauls named the place Dracvern meaning "the spirit of the Alder". The Romans called it Dravernum. In the Merovingian period a money minting facility was installed here, which minted one-third of a gold sol called "Draverno".

Demographics

Inhabitants of Draveil are known as ''Draveillois'' (masculine) and ''Draveilloises'' (feminine) in French.

Administration

Draveil is part of the

arrondissement of Évry An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissement ...

, the canton of Draveil and the communauté d'agglomération Val d'Yerres Val de Seine. The mayor of Draveil from 1995 until 2021 was Georges Tron. He resigned on 25 May 2021 following his sentence and imprisonment for sexual assault and rape. He was succeeded by Richard Privat in June 2021.

Schools

The town has eight preschools * Ecole école Champrosay * Ecole maternelle Antoine de Saint-Exupéry * Ecole maternelle Hameau de Mainville * Ecole maternelle Jean Jaurès * Ecole maternelle Jules Ferry * Ecole maternelle Le belvédère * Ecole maternelle Le Parc de Villiers * Ecole maternelle Pierre Brossolette It also has ten primary schools * Ecole école Champrosay * Ecole élémentaire Antoine de Saint-Exupéry * Ecole élémentaire Hameau de Mainville * Ecole élémentaire Jean Jaurès * Ecole élémentaire Jules Ferry * Ecole élémentaire L Orme des Mazières * Ecole élémentaire Le belvédère * Ecole élémentaire Le Parc de Villiers * Ecole primaire privée Notre-Dame (private) There are three middle schools: * Alphonse Daudet * Eugène Delacroix and * Notre Dame (private). Draveil has one professional high school named "Lycée Nadar". High schools around Draveil are either public like Lycée Rosa Parks in Montgéron. There are three respected private institutions around Draveil: * Institut de Saint Pierre in Brunoy * Lycée Notre Dame de Sion in Évry and * Lycée Saint Louis Saint Clément in Viry-Châtillon. These private schools have a merit-based entrance scheme, have European curriculum, teach languages such as Chinese, etc.

Facilities for children

The infant department at the Mairie supervises a wide-range of day-care centres namely a family crèche, collective crèches like L’Île-aux-Bambins and Pomme-de-Rainette, parent-run day-care centres like crèche Tétine et Doudou and two other day-care centres "Mazières" and "Villiers" that offer à la carte hours. During school vacations, children are offered activities in "centres de loisirs" organised in the school premises in Villiers, Mazières, Jean-Jaurès, Brossolette, Belvédère, Champrosay, Jules-Ferry, Mainville, Saint-Exupéry and Pierre et Marie-Curie. Besides, the Mairie also organises a sports-oriented programme for kids between 8 and 14 called "Totalement sport".

Sports

A wide range of sports facilities are available at the "Base de loisirs du Port-aux-Cerises" namely, canoëing, kayaking, sailing, football field, tennis courts, minigolf, skatepark and horse-riding. A rowing club and a yachting club are based on the banks of the Seine. Two other swimming pools (Caneton and Mainville) that offer different activities like aquagym are also available. In the Bergeries quarter of the town, the COSEC Ferdinand-Buisson offers facilities for handball, table-tennis, badminton, gymnastics and martial arts. Other sports complex around the town organise activities such as volleyball, tennis, athletics, basketball, boxing, roller-blading, etc.

Health

A survey in 2010 found that there were thirty-eight doctors (general practitioners and specialists), fourteen dental surgeons, eleven pharmacists, etc.

Public transport

Many buses ply between many areas in Draveil round-the-clock on a regular basis. Fares for the buses are included in the

Navigo pass The Navigo card () is a contactless smart card used to travel on public transport in Paris and Île-de-France. The card is based on the Calypso (electronic ticketing system), Calypso standard, initially implemented with Radio-frequency identifica ...

. Buses from Draveil also serve

Juvisy Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located southeast of Paris and a few kilometres south of Orly Airport. The city is known for Gare de Juvisy, ...

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (, ) is one of two international airports serving Paris, France, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly and partially in Villeneuve-le-Roi, south of Paris. It serves as a sec ...

Rungis International Market The Rungis International Market (, ) is the principal wholesale market of Paris and mainly deals in food and horticultural products. It is located in the commune of Rungis, in the southern suburbs. It is the second largest wholesale food mark ...

and other neighbouring towns. Draveil is not directly linked to the Paris Métro network. This is a result of a decision taken by the local authorities in order to keep land developers at bay and preserve the town's provincial charm. The Paris metro network can be reached from

station, which is across the Seine.

station has two RER lines to reach the centre of Paris within 15 minutes:

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 ...

and RER line D. This station is located in the neighboring commune of

Juvisy-sur-Orge Juvisy-sur-Orge (, literally ''Juvisy on Orge'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located southeast of Paris and a few kilometres south of Orly Airport. The city is known for Gare de Juvisy, ...

, from the town center of Draveil.

Famous inhabitants

A list of famous people who were either born or lived in Draveil include : *

Jean-Jacques Annaud Jean-Jacques Annaud (; born 1 October 1943) is a French film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed ''Quest for Fire (film), Quest for Fire'' (1981), ''The Name of the Rose (film), The Name of the Rose'' (1986), ''The Bear (1988 film), ...

, cinematographer *

, writer *

, painter *

Edmond de Goncourt Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt (; 26 May 182216 July 1896) was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt. Biography Goncourt was born in Nancy. His parents, Marc-Pierre Huot ...

, writer * Charles Euphrasie Kuwasseg, painter *

Paul Lafargue Paul Lafargue (; ; 15 January 1842 – 25 November 1911) was a Cuban-born French political writer, economist, journalist, literary critic, and activist; he was Karl Marx's son-in-law, having married his second daughter, Laura. His best known ...

, Marxist political writer/activist * Marie Laurencin painter *

Nadar Gaspard-Félix Tournachon (; 5 April 1820 – 20 March 1910), known by the pseudonym Nadar () or Félix Nadar'','' was a French photographer, caricaturist, journalist, novelist, balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and proponent of History of avi ...

, photographer * Henri Romagnesi, mycologist * Joffrey Torvic, footballer *

Ivan Turgenev Ivan Sergeyevich Turgenev ( ; rus, links=no, Иван Сергеевич ТургеневIn Turgenev's day, his name was written ., p=ɪˈvan sʲɪrˈɡʲe(j)ɪvʲɪtɕ tʊrˈɡʲenʲɪf; – ) was a Russian novelist, short story writer, poe ...

, writer *

Frédéric Vasseur Frédéric Jean Henri Vasseur (born 28 May 1968) is a French motorsport executive, businessman and engineer. Since 2023, Vasseur has served as team principal of Ferrari in Formula One; he previously served as team principal of Renault, Sauber and ...

, motorsport engineer/manager

Gallery

File:Château des Bergeries à Draveil.JPG, The Château des Bergeries File:Pierre-Auguste Renoir - La Seine à Champrosay.jpg,

Pierre-Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; ; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French people, French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionism, Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially femininity, fe ...

, ''La Seine à Champrosay'' (1876)''La Seine à Champrosay''
Musée d'Orsay

References

External links

Draveil town council website
(in French)

(in French)
Draveil children amusement park website
(in French)
Mayors of Essonne Association
{{Authority control Communes of Essonne