Essonne () is a department in the Île-de-France region of France. It is named after the river Essonne. It is bordered by Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne in the north, Yvelines in the west and Seine-et-Marne in the east. The department is a part of the Greater Paris region.
In 2023, it had a population of 1,338,485, across 194 communes.
Essonne was formed on 1 January 1968, when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments. Its prefecture is Évry-Courcouronnes. 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.
In June 1963, 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 of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from Essonne and added to the department of Yvelines.
Geography Essonne belongs to the region of Île-de-France.
It has borders with the departments of: Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne to the north, Seine-et-Marne to the east, Loiret to the south, Eure-et-Loir and Yvelines to the west.
All of northern Essonne department belongs to the Parisian agglomeration and is very urbanized. The south remains rural.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is Évry-Courcouronnes, the prefecture. the 5 most populous communes are:Populations de référence 2023: 91 Essonne, INSEE
Commune Population (2023) Évry-Courcouronnes 66,919 Corbeil-Essonnes 54,471 Massy 51,729 Savigny-sur-Orge 37,601 Palaiseau 37,471
In descending order, the other communes over 25,000 population are: Athis-Mons, Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Vigneux-sur-Seine, Ris-Orangis, Viry-Châtillon, Draveil, Yerres, Étampes, Grigny, Brétigny-sur-Orge, Les Ulis and Brunoy. Milly-la-Forêt is a notable example of its more rural communes.
Main sights The . Founded in 1794, L'Ecole Polytechnique is one of the most prestigious engineering universities in France. This university was ranked 10th in the world by the Times Higher Education Supplement in 2005. Its campus is in the town of Palaiseau. 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, Essonne, about 26,000 students are enrolled. The Headquarters of the Arianespace 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 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. Situated in Évry, this is a grande école for engineers
Politics
The department's most high-profile political representative has been Manuel Valls, who was Prime Minister of France from 31 March 2014 to 6 December 2016. Valls visited its main town, Évry, to deliver remarks following the Charlie Hebdo massacre of January 2015. The president of the Departmental Council is François Durovray, elected in 2015.
Presidential election, second round ElectionWinning candidateParty%2nd place candidateParty% 2022 Emmanuel Macron LREM 65.43 Marine Le Pen FN 34.57 2017 Emmanuel Macron LREM 72.18 Marine Le Pen FN 27.82 2012 François Hollande PS 53.43 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 46.57 2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 52.08 Ségolène Royal PS 47.92 2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 84.96 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 15.04 1995 Jacques Chirac RPR 53.30 Lionel Jospin PS 15.04
Members of the National Assembly ConstituencyMemberParty Essonne's 1st constituency Farida Amrani La France Insoumise Essonne's 2nd constituency Nathalie da Conceicao Carvalho National Rally Essonne's 3rd constituency Steevy Gustave The Ecologists Essonne's 4th constituency Marie-Pierre Rixain Renaissance Essonne's 5th constituency Paul Midy Renaissance Essonne's 6th constituency Jérôme Guedj Socialist Party Essonne's 7th constituency Claire Lejeune La France Insoumise Essonne's 8th constituency Bérenger Cernon La France Insoumise Essonne's 9th constituency Julie Ozenne The Ecologists Essonne's 10th constituency Antoine Léaument La France Insoumise
Demographics Population development since 1876:
Place of birth of residents
Tourism
Sister regions Essonne is twinned with: Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan (since 1986)
See also Cantons of the Essonne department Communes of the Essonne department Arrondissements of the Essonne department
References
External links
Prefecture website Departmental council website