Évry
Encyclopedia
Administration
Évry is the préfecturePréfecture
A prefecture in France can refer to :*the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a department is located;*the Chef-lieu de région, the town in which the administration of a region is located;...
(capital) of the Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
département. It is also the official seat of the arrondissement of Évry
Arrondissement of Évry
The arrondissement of Évry is an arrondissement of France, located in the Essonne département, in the Île-de-France région. It has 17 cantons and 52 communes.-Cantons:The cantons of the arrondissement of Évry are:# Brunoy# Corbeil-Essonnes-Est...
, although in reality the sous-préfecture
Sous-préfecture
Subprefectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Subprefecture is also the name given to the building which houses the administrative headquarters for the arrondissement....
buildings and administration are located in the neighboring commune of Corbeil-Essonnes
Corbeil-Essonnes
Corbeil-Essonnes is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although neighboring Évry is the official seat of the Arrondissement of Évry, the sub-prefecture building and administration are located inside the commune of Corbeil-Essonnes.In the 19th...
.
Évry is the capital of two cantons:
- Évry-Nord, 2 communes, population 38,358
- Évry-Sud, 3 communes, population 41,368
Transport
Évry is served by three stations on Paris RER line DRER D
The RER D is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line officially runs from the northern terminus Orry-la-Ville – Coye to the southern terminuses Melun and Malesherbes...
: Évry-Val-de-Seine, Évry – Courcouronnes Centre, and Le Bras-de-Fer.
The line that serves the station Évry – Courcouronnes Centre and Le Bras-de-Fer was built at the same time as the new town.
The town is bordered to the east by highway A6
A6 autoroute (France)
The A6, also known as the Autoroute du Soleil, Sun's Motorway, , is an Autoroute in France, linking Paris to Lyon. The motorway starts at Paris's Porte d'Orléans and Porte d'Italie with two branches, numbered A6a and A6b respectively, that join south of Paris...
, south by the National 104
Francilienne
The Francilienne is a partial ring road around Île-de-France , France, lying outside the A86.The planned ring is approximately in diameter, similar in size to London's M25 motorway....
and from the north to the south is through the National 7
Route nationale 7
The Route nationale 7, or RN 7, is a trunk road in France between Paris and the border with Italy. It was also known as the Route Bleue and — sarcastically, during the annual rush to the Mediterranean beaches — the Route de la Mort .-History:The Romans under Marcus Agrippa established...
.
Economy
AccorAccor
Accor is Europe's leading hotel group , part of the CAC 40 index , and operates in over 90 countries. Headquartered in Courcouronnes, Essonne, France, near Évry, France, the group owns, operates and franchises 4,229 hotels ranging from economy to luxury on five continents .Previously, the group...
and Arianespace
Arianespace
Arianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....
have their headquarters in Courcouronnes
Courcouronnes
Courcouronnes is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, created in the 1960s.-Economy:...
, near Évry. Carrefour
Carrefour
Carrefour S.A. is an international hypermarket chain headquartered in Levallois-Perret, France. It is one of the largest hypermarket chains in the world...
's Hypermarket division has its head office in Courcouronnes, near Évry.
Religion
Évry has the following religious edifices (in descending order of attendance):- Grand Mosque of ÉvryGrand Mosque of ÉvryWith its minaret, the Grand Mosque of Évry, in Évry, France, is one of the largest mosques in Europe, exceeded in size only by the Mosque of Rome and by the Ahmadi Mosque in London. A cultural center is associated with the building....
and Islamic Centre (largest in France). Mosque: picture
- Cathedral of the ResurrectionÉvry CathedralÉvry Cathedral is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the new town of Évry in France.The Diocese of Corbeil or Corbeil-Essonnes was created in 1966, and the parish church of Saint-Spire was elevated to the status of the bishop's seat as Corbeil Cathedral, but neither it nor any other of the existing...
. picture - Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (MormonsMormonsThe Mormons are a religious and cultural group related to Mormonism, a religion started by Joseph Smith during the American Second Great Awakening. A vast majority of Mormons are members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints while a minority are members of other independent churches....
) - Evangelist Centre (Protestant).
- Adventist Church. Adventist Church:
- Parish church of St Peter & St Paul (extremely rare 12th century building oriented N/S instead of E/W). Parish Church:
- Synagogue
- Notre Dame de l'Esperance. Parish Church:
- Convent of Notre Dame de Sion
There is also a very strong presence of Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a millenarian restorationist Christian denomination with nontrinitarian beliefs distinct from mainstream Christianity. The religion reports worldwide membership of over 7 million adherents involved in evangelism, convention attendance of over 12 million, and annual...
in Évry with a new Kingdom Hall
Kingdom Hall
A Kingdom Hall is a place of worship used by Jehovah's Witnesses. The term was first suggested in 1935 by Joseph Franklin Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society, for a building in Hawaii...
on the Route Nationale 7 nearly opposite the pagoda.
The Grand Mosque of Évry
Grand Mosque of Évry
With its minaret, the Grand Mosque of Évry, in Évry, France, is one of the largest mosques in Europe, exceeded in size only by the Mosque of Rome and by the Ahmadi Mosque in London. A cultural center is associated with the building....
with its 5,525 m2 is one of the largest in Western Europe, and is of Moroccan architecture. The minaret is 25m tall. It has a large prayer room and can accommodate a total of 5.000 people. Islam in France is growing, and currently, there are around 5 million Muslims in France's 63 million general population. Évry presents a place of much "multiculturalism" yet problems rarely arise. The construction of the mosque was mostly funded by King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and the interior decoration by the Moroccan king Hassan II
Hassan II of Morocco
King Hassan II l-ḥasan aṯ-ṯānī, dial. el-ḥasan ettâni); July 9, 1929 – July 23, 1999) was King of Morocco from 1961 until his death in 1999...
. The total cost was 6.8M€. Although the true story of the kidnapping and death of Ben Barka
Mehdi Ben Barka
Mehdi Ben Barka was a Moroccan politician, head of the left-wing National Union of Popular Forces and secretary of the Tricontinental Conference...
is still a mystery, many people believe he is buried either under the mosque or in the nearby forest of La Garenne.
The Pagoda Khan-Anh will be the largest Pagoda
Pagoda
A pagoda is the general term in the English language for a tiered tower with multiple eaves common in Nepal, India, China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam and other parts of Asia. Some pagodas are used as Taoist houses of worship. Most pagodas were built to have a religious function, most commonly Buddhist,...
in Europe (3,287 m2) and will accommodate 1,500 people. The initial cost was estimated at 7.6M€ but is expected to have doubled by the end of the construction. Work began in 1996 and is yet to be completed. The statue of Buddha
Gautama Buddha
Siddhārtha Gautama was a spiritual teacher from the Indian subcontinent, on whose teachings Buddhism was founded. In most Buddhist traditions, he is regarded as the Supreme Buddha Siddhārtha Gautama (Sanskrit: सिद्धार्थ गौतम; Pali: Siddhattha Gotama) was a spiritual teacher from the Indian...
, 4 metres tall and weighing 5 tons, arrived from Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
on 20 October 2002. The pagoda will be the headquarters of the European Buddhist Congregation and will be a training school for future monks and nuns. The Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama is a high lama in the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" branch of Tibetan Buddhism. The name is a combination of the Mongolian word далай meaning "Ocean" and the Tibetan word bla-ma meaning "teacher"...
consecrated the edifice on 12 August 2008. He made a speech in English which was translated by interpreters into French and Vietnamese. 1,500 adepts were admitted into the grounds coming from as far away as Canada but only 500 visitors watched the ceremony on a giant screen erected in the nearby park. Pagoda:
Political activity
The following political parties have a permanent base in Évry:- Parti Communiste Français
- Parti Radical de Gauche
- Parti SocialisteSocialist Party (France)The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
- UDFUnion for French DemocracyThe Union for French Democracy was a French centrist political party. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to counterbalance the Gaullist preponderance over the right. This name was chosen due to the title of Giscard d'Estaing's...
- UMP
- Groupe des VertsThe Greens (France)The Greens were a Green political party to the centre-left of the political spectrum in France. They had officially been in existence since 1984, but their spiritual roots could be traced as far back as René Dumont’s candidacy for the presidency in 1974...
- Groupe "Défi pour Évry"
- Groupe "Nous, Citoyens d'Évry"
Miscellaneous
The composer Gioachino Rossini had a country residence in Evry to be near his friend Edmond de GoncourtEdmond de Goncourt
Edmond de Goncourt , born Edmond Louis Antoine Huot de Goncourt, was a French writer, literary critic, art critic, book publisher and the founder of the Académie Goncourt.-Biography:...
who lived on the opposite bank of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
in Draveil
Draveil
Draveil is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.The former village of Champrosay is now part of the commune.Inhabitants of Draveil are known as Draveillois.-Transport:...
. It was here that he wrote the greater part of his opera The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville
The Barber of Seville, or The Futile Precaution is an opera buffa in two acts by Gioachino Rossini with a libretto by Cesare Sterbini. The libretto was based on Pierre Beaumarchais's comedy Le Barbier de Séville , which was originally an opéra comique, or a mixture of spoken play with music...
.
On 16 November 1943, Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
fighter Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian
Missak Manouchian was a French poet of Armenian birth, a militant communist in the MOI , and military commissioner of the FTP-MOI in the Paris region...
was arrested during a gun battle on the banks of the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, a few hundred yards from Evry railway station after his group had been outnumberd. A memorial marks the exact place where he was arrested. Towards the end of the war General Patton
George S. Patton
George Smith Patton, Jr. was a United States Army officer best known for his leadership while commanding corps and armies as a general during World War II. He was also well known for his eccentricity and controversial outspokenness.Patton was commissioned in the U.S. Army after his graduation from...
crossed the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
with his tanks at Évry en route from Avranches
Avranches
Avranches is a commune in the Manche department in the Basse-Normandie region in north-western France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called Avranchinais.-History:...
going towards the east. The anniversary of the liberation of Évry on 23 August 1944, is celebrated annually at the Patton Memorial
Although Évry is a modern "new town", which is generally synonymous with "concrete jungle", 50% of its surface area is parkland and open space. The main thoroughfares are very wide avenues and trees are to be found everywhere. In the nationwide intercommunal competition "Ville Fleurie" (flowered town) Évry has been awarded the high status of "3 flowers", usually won by country villages. To encourage this aspect of the town an annual "Balcon Fleuri" (flowered balcony) competition is held. A similar balcony competition is held each December for the best exterior Christmas decorations.
Some people consider the modern cathedral as an architectural beauty while others liken the design to that of a blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
.
Évry is the home of the European space project Ariane
Ariane (rocket)
Ariane is a series of a European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne....
, at the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES).
Évry also has a freenode IRC server.
Twinnings
Évry is twinned with the London Borough of BexleyLondon Borough of Bexley
The London Borough of Bexley lies in south east Greater London, and is a borough referred to as part of Outer London. It has common borders with the London Borough of Bromley to the south, the London Borough of Greenwich to the west, across the River Thames to the north it borders the London...
in England. This is because, originally, Évry was designed to be a predominantly management and executive class town. Today, however, Évry resembles Dagenham
Dagenham
Dagenham is a large suburb in East London, forming the eastern part of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham and located east of Charing Cross. It was historically an agrarian village in the county of Essex and remained mostly undeveloped until 1921 when the London County Council began...
and has little in common with Bexley.
Évry is also twinned with Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ
Nowy Targ is a town in southern Poland with 34,000 inhabitants , and the historical capital of the mountain region . The town is situated in the confluence of the rivers Biały and Czarny Dunajec, in a valley beneath the Gorce Mountains. It's in Nowy Targ County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship...
in Poland; Troisdorf
Troisdorf
Troisdorf is a town in the Rhein-Sieg-Kreis , in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Geography:Troisdorf is located approx. 22 kilometers south of Cologne and 13 kilometers north east of Bonn.-Division of the town:...
in Germany; Estelí
Estelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
in Nicaragua; and Repentigny
Repentigny, Quebec
Repentigny is an off-island suburb of Montreal, in the province of Quebec, located north of Montreal, on the lower end of the L'Assomption River and on the Saint Lawrence River. Repentigny and Charlemagne are the first towns off the island of Montreal.-History:...
in Quebec.
The Agglomération d'Évry has twinning pacts with Kayes
Kayes
Kayes is a city in western Mali on the Sénégal River, with a population of roughly 100,000 people. Kayes is the capital of the administrative region of the same name. The name "Kayes" comes from the Soninké word "karré", which describes a low humid place that floods in rainy season...
in Mali; and the refugee
Refugee
A refugee is a person who outside her country of origin or habitual residence because she has suffered persecution on account of race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or because she is a member of a persecuted 'social group'. Such a person may be referred to as an 'asylum seeker' until...
camp of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip
Gaza Strip
thumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
. (Maison du Monde, 509, Patio des Terrasses, Évry, sharing the address with a branch of Amnesty International
Amnesty International
Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organisation whose stated mission is "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights, and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated."Following a publication of Peter Benenson's...
).
The latest addition to the overseas contacts is a "parrainage" (godfather) pact with Bozovici
Bozovici
Bozovici is a commune in Caraş-Severin County, western Romania with a population of 3,321 people. It is composed of four villages: Bozovici, Poneasca, Prilipeţ and Valea Minişului.-References:...
in Romania.
Sports
Several évryens clubs illustrated in various disciplines such as AS EvryAS Evry
L'Association Sportive Évry Football is a French association football club founded in 1898. They are based in Évry, France and are currently playing in the Division d'honneur division in the Paris, Île-de-France region, the sixth tier of the French football league system. They play at the Stade...
in football (soccer)
Football (soccer)
Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...
who played in the third division national league and the Paris Île-de-France, the Corsairs of Evry in American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
. evolving into a second division championship and sometimes national French elite; the Peaux Rouges in ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
who play in the third national division, and the North South Viry Evry Essonne athletics.
The town regularly hosts national meetings such as the French Dance Federation in 1981. Being city-stage of the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
in 2001, it was also bid to host the Grand Prix of France
Grand Prix of France
Grand Prix of France may mean:* French Grand Prix* French motorcycle Grand Prix* Trophée Eric Bompard...
.
See also
- University of Évry Val d'Essonne
- Telecom SudParis & Telecom Business School
External links
- http://www.mairie-evry.fr/
- http://www.agglo-evry.fr
- http://www.valls.fr
- http://perso.wanadoo.fr/pcf.evry/ (Evry branch communist party)
- http://www.echosdesquartiers.com (Pyramides/Bois Sauvage)
- University of Evry site
- Cathedral of the Resurrection in Evry
- http://catholique-evry.cef.fr (Cathedral and diocese) aerial photos