Oyonnax is a commune

Communes of France

The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the Ain

Ain

Ain is a department named after the Ain River on the eastern edge of France. Being part of the region Rhône-Alpes and bordered by the rivers Saône and Rhône, the department of Ain enjoys a privileged geographic situation...

 department in the Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes

Rhône-Alpes is one of the 27 regions of France, located on the eastern border of the country, towards the south. The region was named after the Rhône River and the Alps mountain range. Its capital, Lyon, is the second-largest metropolitan area in France after Paris...

 region in eastern France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

.

It is the second largest commune in the department. Its residents are known as Oyonnaxiens.

Population

Miscellaneous

The town has a cultural centre, including cinemas, concert halls, and a "Museum of the Comb and of the Plastics Industry". Tourist activities include hiking

Hiking

Hiking is an outdoor activity which consists of walking in natural environments, often in mountainous or other scenic terrain. People often hike on hiking trails. It is such a popular activity that there are numerous hiking organizations worldwide. The health benefits of different types of hiking...

, canoeing

Canoeing

Canoeing is an outdoor activity that involves a special kind of canoe.Open canoes may be 'poled' , sailed, 'lined and tracked' or even 'gunnel-bobbed'....

 and cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing

Cross-country skiing is a winter sport in which participants propel themselves across snow-covered terrain using skis and poles...

 among the forests, hills and lakes of the area.

Notable people

• Eric Barone (1960- ), sportsman, well known for having beaten the world speed record descending on a bicycle, both on snow and soil.
• Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
  Léger-Félicité Sonthonax
  Léger-Félicité Sonthonax was a French Girondist and abolitionist during the French Revolution who controlled 7,000 French troops in Saint-Domingue during part of the Haitian Revolution. His official title was Civil Commissioner. From September 1792 - December 1795 he was the de facto ruler of...
  
   (1763–1813), politician and abolitionist
  Abolitionism
  Abolitionism is a movement to end slavery.In western Europe and the Americas abolitionism was a movement to end the slave trade and set slaves free. At the behest of Dominican priest Bartolomé de las Casas who was shocked at the treatment of natives in the New World, Spain enacted the first...
  
   during the French Revolution
  French Revolution
  The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
  
  
• Paul Collomb
  Paul Collomb
  Paul Collomb was a French painter. A native of Ain, he studied art in Paris before World War II. He won the Premier Second Grand Prix de Rome in 1950. Collomb's work has drawn comparisons to that of Maurice Boitel...
  
  (1921- ), painter

External links

• Official website (in French)
• Oyonnax tourist office (in French)
• Communauté de communes d'Oyonnax website
• Article about the "Plastics valley"
• 'Plastics vallée' (in French)
• 'Photos of Oyonnax'