Puteaux
Encyclopedia
Puteaux 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 western suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 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 located in the heart of the Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...

 department 8.7 kilometres (5.4 mi) from the center of Paris
Kilometre Zero
In many countries, Kilometre Zero or similar terms in other languages, is a particular location , from which distances are traditionally measured...

.

La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...

, Paris' business district
Central business district
A central business district is the commercial and often geographic heart of a city. In North America this part of a city is commonly referred to as "downtown" or "city center"...

 hosting the tallest buildings in the metropolitan area, spreads over the northern part of Puteaux (the district being also divided between Courbevoie
Courbevoie
Courbevoie is a commune located very close to the centre of Paris, France. The centre of Courbevoie is situated 2 kilometres from the outer limits of Paris and 8.2 km...

 and Nanterre
Nanterre
Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....

).

The inhabitants of Puteaux are called Putéoliens.

History

The creation of the city dates from 1148, by Abbot Suger and gave him the name Putiauz. The foundation of Puteaux part of several other towns in the region by Abbot Suger, as Carrières-sur-Seine, Vaucresson or Villeneuve-la-Garenne and aimed to attract people in the region. This appeal was reinforced by certain privileges granted by the Abbot Suger.

The name Putiauz comes from the old French Putel, which means a "quagmire" or "swamp" and was certainly making reference to the condition of the area before its reorganization.

But another etymology exists, hence the name Puteaux would come from Latin puteoli, plural of puteolus which means "little well" or "Water hole". The name of Puteaux in turn appears to the sixteenth century or seventeenth century.

Legend has it that Puteaux inspired the story of the gadfly from La Fontaine.

Geography

Located on the left bank of the river 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...

, Puteaux borders Courbevoie
Courbevoie
Courbevoie is a commune located very close to the centre of Paris, France. The centre of Courbevoie is situated 2 kilometres from the outer limits of Paris and 8.2 km...

 to the north, Nanterre
Nanterre
Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located west of the center of Paris.Nanterre is the capital of the Hauts-de-Seine department as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Nanterre....

 to the west and Suresnes
Suresnes
Suresnes is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The nearest communes are Neuilly-sur-Seine, Puteaux, Rueil-Malmaison, Saint-Cloud and Boulogne-Billancourt...

 to the south. In the east, Puteaux is connected to Paris by the bridge of Puteaux near Neuilly
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...

 and by the bridge of Neuilly (which is also used by Paris Métro Line 1
Paris Metro Line 1
Paris Métro Line 1 is one of the sixteen lines composing the Paris Métro . It connects the La Défense – Grande Arche and Château de Vincennes stations. With a 16.5 km length, it constitutes an "East-West" route transportation important for the City of Paris...

). The territory of the commune of Puteaux also includes the largest part of the Île de Puteaux, on the Seine.

Districts

Within Puteaux several districts can be distinguished.

The district Bas de Puteaux, located between the railway line and the Seine, is the oldest urbanized district. Notable in particular are the old church, the Théâtre des Hauts-de-Seine, the town hall and a commercial shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...

 near the rues Jaurès, Eichenberger and Chantecoq. The town hall was built in 1934 and is a typical example of the architecture of this time. The boulevard Richard Wallace
Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet
Sir Richard Wallace, 1st Baronet was an English art collector.He was the illegitimate son of Richard Seymour-Conway, 4th Marquess of Hertford, for whom he worked as secretary, and inherited his unentailed father's estates, and extensive collection of European art in 1871...

 is the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...

of Puteaux.

The district Haut de Puteaux, located to the east of the railway line, is a more recent district, made of several residences and HLM
HLM
HLM , French for "housing at moderated rents" or "rent-controlled housing", is a form of subsidised housing in France. There are approximately four million such residences, housing an estimated 12 million people — nearly one-fifth of the population of France...

 (résidences des rosiers, Cartault, Marcellin Berthelot
Marcellin Berthelot
Marcelin Pierre Eugène Berthelot was a French chemist and politician noted for the Thomsen-Berthelot principle of thermochemistry. He synthesized many organic compounds from inorganic substances and disproved the theory of vitalism. He is considered as one of the greatest chemists of all time.He...

, Bernard Palissy
Bernard Palissy
Bernard Palissy was a French Huguenot potter, hydraulics engineer and craftsman, famous for having struggled for sixteen years to imitate Chinese porcelain...

) The Lorilleux residence, for example, was built on the site of the old ink manufacturing companies.

The district La Défense is located in the north, separated by the circular boulevard. The district, developed since the end of the 1950s, is one of the principal business districts in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. It mainly consists of office buildings, but some notable dwellings can be found within the district as well (Tour Défense 2000
Tour Défense 2000
The Tour Défense 2000 is one of the taller dwellings in France. The tower is situated in the La Défense section of Puteaux, a suburb of Paris....

, résidence Boieldieu). Two thirds of the territory of La Défense is located within Puteaux, the remainder being divided between Courbevoie and Nanterre. Thus, the CNIT
Center of New Industries and Technologies
The Center of New Industries and Technologies , located in Puteaux, France, is one of the first buildings built in La Défense in Paris, France...

, the Arche de la Défense
Grande Arche
La Grande Arche de la Défense is a monument and building in the business district of La Défense and in the commune of Puteaux, to the west of Paris, France...

 and the Quatre Temps shopping mall are in Puteaux.

The district Île de Puteaux, on which there are no dwellings besides some barges, shelters the sporting structures (tennis courts, football
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...

 pitch
Association football pitch
An association football pitch is the playing surface for the game of association football made of turf. Its dimensions and markings are defined by Law 1 of the Laws of the Game, "The Field of Play".All line markings on the pitch form part of the area which they define...

, gymnasium, swimming pool) of Puteaux. A sporting complex, the Palais des sports, opened in July 2006.

Government and infrastructure

Tour Pascal B in La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...

 and in Puteaux has the head offices of the Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer
Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer
Bureau d'Enquêtes sur les Événements de Mer is the French agency that investigates accidents and incidents of ships....

 and of the Ministry of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and Sea.

Economy

The tax revenue
Tax revenue
Tax revenue is the income that is gained by governments through taxation.Just as there are different types of tax, the form in which tax revenue is collected also differs; furthermore, the agency that collects the tax may not be part of central government, but may be an alternative third-party...

 of La Défense makes Puteaux one of the richest communes of France. Puteaux receives forty million euros per year coming from the companies within the district alone. Puteaux does not have a debt and its financial reserves, placed in Treasury bills, returns ten million euros in interest alone. The budget of Puteaux can thus exceed 200 million euros (reference 2005), for only 42,000 inhabitants.

Puteaux has a long industrial past, in particular the car industry (De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton
De Dion-Bouton was a French automobile manufacturer and railcar manufacturer operating from 1883 to 1932. The company was founded by the Marquis Jules-Albert de Dion, Georges Bouton and his brother-in-law Charles Trépardoux....

, but also Unic
Unic
Unic was a French car manufacturer firm founded by Georges Richard in 1906 after having left Richard-Brasier. Société anonyme des automobiles UNIC was established in Puteaux with two-cylinder and four-cylinder models. The 1943 cc 12 CV four-cylinder model was extremely successful and...

, Saurer
Saurer
Adolph Saurer AG was a Arbon, Switzerland , based manufacturer of trucks and buses, under the Saurer and Berna brand names, and active between 1903 and 1982....

 and Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz
Daimler-Benz AG was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motor vehicles, and internal combustion engines; founded in 1926. An Agreement of Mutual Interest - which was valid until year 2000 - was signed on 1 May 1924 between Karl Benz's Benz & Cie., and Daimler Motoren Gesellschaft, which had...

), aeronautics : (Zodiac Group
Zodiac Group
Zodiac, which became Zodiac Aerospace in 2007, is a French corporation, specialized in the production and development of on-board systems, safety systems and cabin interiors...

), the armament industry : Atelier de Construction de Puteaux (APX), inks (Charles Lorilleux) and perfume
Perfume
Perfume is a mixture of fragrant essential oils and/or aroma compounds, fixatives, and solvents used to give the human body, animals, objects, and living spaces "a pleasant scent"...

s (Coty
Coty
Coty may refer to:*François Coty , perfume maker and founder of Solidarité Française and Coty, Inc.*René Coty , President of France*Coty, Inc., a beauty products manufacturer*Coty Award...

).

Politics

Charles Ceccaldi-Raynaud (Union for a Popular Movement
Union for a Popular Movement
The Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...

, UMP) was the mayor of Puteaux from 1969 to 2004. In 2004 he was succeeded by his daughter Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud
Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud
Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud is a member of the National Assembly of France . As a member of parliament, she represents one of the districts of the Hauts-de-Seine department . As a politician, she is affiliated to the Union for a Popular Movement party. She is Puteaux city mayor as well....

 (UMP). She was also temporarily appointed as a Member of Parliament for the 6th district of Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...

 (Puteaux/Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine
Neuilly-sur-Seine is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Although Neuilly is technically a suburb of Paris, it is immediately adjacent to the city and directly extends it. The area is composed of mostly wealthy, select residential...

) instead of Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra. He assumed the office on 16 May 2007 after defeating the Socialist Party candidate Ségolène Royal 10 days earlier....

.

The administration of Puteaux by Ceccaldi-Raynaud is considered authoritarian by certain people (the opposition but sometimes also certain people of their own political camp in Hauts-de-Seine). This criticism regularly has echoes in the media (like the daily newspapers Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...

, Le Monde
Le Monde
Le Monde is a French daily evening newspaper owned by La Vie-Le Monde Group and edited in Paris. It is one of two French newspapers of record, and has generally been well respected since its first edition under founder Hubert Beuve-Méry on 19 December 1944...

, the edition of Hauts-de-Seine of Le Parisien
Le Parisien
Le Parisien is a French daily newspaper covering both international and national news, and local news of Paris and its suburbs. It was established as Le Parisien libéré by Émilien Amaury in 1944, and the name was changed to the current one in 1986...

and the news magazine L'Express
L'Express (France)
L'Express is a French weekly news magazine. When founded in 1953 during the First Indochina War, it was modelled on the US magazine TIME.-History:...

, which made a coverstory of it at the end of 2005).

In September 2005, Charles Ceccaldi-Raynaud announced his intention to become mayor again, instead of his daughter. However, his daughter refused to resign. A lot of fixing was needed, in particular in the Municipal council
Municipal council
A municipal council is the local government of a municipality. Specifically the term can refer to the institutions of various countries that can be translated by this term...

 (reported in a dispatch of the AFP
Agence France-Presse
Agence France-Presse is a French news agency, the oldest one in the world, and one of the three largest with Associated Press and Reuters. It is also the largest French news agency. Currently, its CEO is Emmanuel Hoog and its news director Philippe Massonnet...

 of November 21, 2005).

Municipal administration

The mayors of Puteaux:
  • Guillaume Nezot (in 1790).
  • Pierre Nezot (in 1791).
  • Philippe Gault (1791–1795).
  • Guillaume Nezot (1795–1800).
  • Jean Saulnier (1800–1816).
  • Denis Legrand (1816–1826).
  • Bernard Gerhard (1826–1831).
  • Pierre Langlasse (refused the function).
  • Victor Beau (in 1832).
  • Guillaume Julien (1833–1840).
  • Claude Pitois (1840–1847).
  • Gabriel Panay (in 1848).
  • Alfred Michel (1848–1851).
  • Jean-Baptiste Léonard (1851–1857).
  • Léon Godefroy (1857–1858) (deceased in function).
  • Joseph Boucherot (1858–1870).
  • Simon-Hyacinte Blanche (in 1870).
  • Jean-Théoxene Roque de Fillol (in 1871).
  • Arthur Guillaumet (1871–1872).
  • Charles Lorilleux (en 1872).
  • Auguste Blanche (1872–1880).
  • Ernest Francillon
    Ernest Francillon
    Ernest Francillon, born 10 July 1834 in Lausanne,was the Swiss manager of Longines watches and an entrepreneur. He was the nephew of Auguste Agassiz. He died on 3 April 1900 in Saint-Imier, where he founded the factory. A monument to has memory was erected on 13 October 1907....

     (1881–1884).
  • Charles Chenu (1884–1894).
  • Charles Decroix (1894–1912).
  • Lucien Voilin (1912–1925).
  • Marius Jacotot (1925–1930).
  • Georges Barthélémy (1930–1944).
  • Firmin Aury (in August 1944).
  • Henri Buisine (August 1944–1945).
  • Jean Nennig (1945–1947).
  • Roger Deniau (1947–1948).
  • Georges Dardel (SFIO
    Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière
    The French Section of the Workers' International , founded in 1905, was a French socialist political party, designed as the local section of the Second International...

    ) (1948–1969).
  • Charles Ceccaldi-Raynaud (1969–2004).
  • Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud
    Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud
    Joëlle Ceccaldi-Raynaud is a member of the National Assembly of France . As a member of parliament, she represents one of the districts of the Hauts-de-Seine department . As a politician, she is affiliated to the Union for a Popular Movement party. She is Puteaux city mayor as well....

     (since 2004).

Transport

Puteaux is served by Puteaux
Gare de Puteaux
Gare de Puteaux is a railway station serving the town Puteaux, Hauts-de-Seine department, in the western suburbs of Paris, France.-Services:...

 station on the Transilien La Défense
Transilien La Défense
Transilien La Défense is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from La Défense station in Paris's business district of La Défense. Transilien service from La Défense is part of the SNCF Saint-Lazare rail network. Service consists of one...

 and Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare
Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare
Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris, as well as from Noisy-le-Roi station in the suburbs. Transilien services from Paris – Saint-Lazare are part of the SNCF...

 suburban rail lines.

Puteaux is also served by Esplanade de la Défense
Esplanade de La Défense (Paris Metro)
Esplanade de La Défense is a station on Paris Métro Line 1 on the outskirts of La Défense on the border of Courbevoie and Puteaux.It has a central platform because of its constrained site between the openings of the two tubes of the A14 autoroute .- History :The station was opened on 1 April 1992...

 station on Paris Métro Line 1
Paris Metro Line 1
Paris Métro Line 1 is one of the sixteen lines composing the Paris Métro . It connects the La Défense – Grande Arche and Château de Vincennes stations. With a 16.5 km length, it constitutes an "East-West" route transportation important for the City of Paris...

, in the business district of La Défense
La Défense
La Défense is a major business district of the Paris aire urbaine. With a population of 20,000, it is centered in an orbital motorway straddling the Hauts-de-Seine département municipalities of Nanterre, Courbevoie and Puteaux...

, as well as by La Défense station, a large interchange station on Paris Métro Line 1, on Paris RER line A
RER A
The RER A is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line runs from the western terminuses Saint-Germain-en-Laye , Cergy Le Haut , and Poissy to the eastern terminuses Boissy-Saint-Léger and Marne-la-Vallée – Chessy .* First inauguration: 12 December 1969*...

, on the Transilien La Défense suburban rail line, and on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line.
Puteaux is also served by the T2 (tramway 2), in the La défense-Issy-val de seine line.

Sport

The Cercle de Puteaux hosted the tennis
Tennis at the 1900 Summer Olympics
Four tennis events were contested at the 1900 Summer Olympics in Paris, France.-Medal summary:-Medal table:-References:* medal winners database...

 events for the 1900 Summer Olympics
1900 Summer Olympics
The 1900 Summer Olympics, today officially known as the Games of the II Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event which was celebrated in 1900 in Paris, France. No opening or closing ceremonies were held; competitions began on May 14 and ended on October 28. The Games were held as part of...

.

Old street names

Current name Old name
rue Bernard-Palissy rue Charles X
rue du bicentenaire avenue du centenaire
quai de Dion-Bouton quai National
rue Jean-Jaurès rue de Paris
rue des Pavillons rue des Coutures
Place de Stalingrad place du marché
rue de Verdun rue de Neuilly
rue Fernand Pelloutier rue de Denain

Twin towns

Puteaux is twinned
Town twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...

 with:
  • Braga
    Braga
    Braga , a city in the Braga Municipality in northwestern Portugal, is the capital of the Braga District, the oldest archdiocese and the third major city of the country. Braga is the oldest Portuguese city and one of the oldest Christian cities in the World...

    , since 2001.
  • Esch-sur-Alzette
    Esch-sur-Alzette
    Esch-sur-Alzette is a commune with city status, in south-western Luxembourg. It is the country's second city, and its second-most populous commune, with a population of 29,853 people...

    , since 1956.
  • Gan Yavne
    Gan Yavne
    Gan Yavne is a in the Center District of Israel, located adjacent to the city of Ashdod. It was founded in 1931 and declared a local council in 1950.Gan Yavne lies east of the Tel-Aviv–Ashkelon highway...

    , since 1973.
  • Kati
    Kati
    Kati is a town made up of 37 communes in Mali's Koulikoro Region, about 15 km from Bamako, Mali's capital. It has a population of approximately 40,000 inhabitants.-Economy:...

    , since 1985.
  • Mödling
    Mödling
    Mödling is the capital of the Austrian district of the same name located approximately 14 km south of Vienna.The settlement dates back to the Neolithic. In medieval times, the town was the residence of a branch of the Babenberger family, as a result of which it received the nickname...

    , since 1956.
  • Offenbach
    Offenbach, Hesse
    Offenbach am Main is a city in Hesse, Germany, located on southside of the river Main just next to Frankfurt am Main. In 2009 it had a population of 118,770. The city is part of the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main metropolitan area as well as the Frankfurt urban area....

    , since 1955.
  • Velletri
    Velletri
    Velletri is an Italian town of 53,298 inhabitants. It is a comune in the province of Rome, on the Alban Hills, in Lazio - Italy. It is bounded by other communes of Rocca di Papa, Lariano, Cisterna di Latina, Artena, Aprilia, Nemi, Genzano di Roma, Lanuvio...

    , since 1958.
  • Zemun
    Zemun
    Zemun is a historical town and one of the 17 municipalities which constitute the City of Belgrade, the capital of Serbia...

    , since 1956.

External links

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