Nanterre is a commune in the western suburbs of
Paris
, France
. It
is located west from the
center of
Paris.
Nanterre
is the préfecture
(capital) of the Hauts-de-Seine
département, as well as the seat
of the Arrondissement of
Nanterre.
The
eastern part of Nanterre, bordering the communes of Courbevoie and Puteaux,
contains a small part of the La Défense
business district of Paris and some of the tallest
buildings in the Paris region. Because the headquarters
of many major corporations are located in La Défense, the court of
Nanterre is well-known in the media for the number of high-profile
lawsuits and trials that take place in it. The city of Nanterre
also includes the
University Paris X
– Nanterre, one of the largest universities in the Paris
region.
Name
The name of Nanterre originated before the Roman conquest of
Gaul. The Romans recorded the name as
Nemetodorum. It is composed of the
Celtic word
nemeto meaning
"shrine" or "sacred place" and the Celtic word
duros
(cognate of English
door and German
Tür) meaning
"door or gate", or "fortress".
The sacred place referred to is supposed to
have been a famous shrine that existed in antiquity on the top of
the hill known as Mont-Valérien
.
Inhabitants of Nanterre are called
Nanterriennes
(feminine) and
Nanterriens (masculine).
History
Sainte Geneviève, patron saint of
Paris, was born in Nanterre ca. 419-422.
On March 26, 2002, Richard Durn, a disgruntled local activist, shot
and killed eight town councilors and 14 others were wounded in what
the French press dubbed the
Nanterre
massacre. On March 28, the murderer killed himself by jumping
from the 4th floor of the « Quai des orfèvres », in Paris, while he
was questioned by two policemen about the reason for his killing in
the Nanterre City Hall.
Demographics
Immigration
Administration
Nanterre is divided into three
cantons:
Transport
Nanterre is served by three stations on
RER line
A:
Nanterre –
Préfecture,
Nanterre –
Université, and
Nanterre – Ville.
Nanterre - Préfecture station is also an interchange station on the
Transilien Paris
– Saint-Lazare suburban rail line.
See also
Twin towns
References
External links