Maisons-Alfort

Maisons-Alfort
Paris and inner ring departments
Location within Île-de-France region  Maisons-Alfort
Administration
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Val-de-Marne
Arrondissement	Créteil
Canton	2 cantons
Mayor	Michel Herbillon
Statistics
Elevation	24–47 m (79–154 ft)
Land area1	5.38 km2 (2.08 sq mi)
Population2	53,607  (2006)
- Density	9,964 /km2 (25,810 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	94046/ 94700
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 48°48′21″N 2°26′16″E / 48.8058333333°N 2.43777777778°E / 48.8058333333; 2.43777777778

Maisons-Alfort (French pronunciation: [mɛ.zɔ̃.al.fɔʁ]) is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.4 km (5.2 mi) from the center of Paris.

Maisons-Alfort is famous as the location of the National Veterinary School of Alfort, the most renowned veterinary medical school in France. The Fort de Charenton, constructed between 1841 and 1845, has since 1959 housed the Commandement des Écoles de la Gendarmerie Nationale.

Name

Originally, Maisons-Alfort was called simply Maisons. The name Maisons comes from Medieval Latin Mansiones, meaning "the houses".

At the creation of the commune during the French Revolution, the name of the hamlet of Alfort was joined with the name of Maisons. The name Alfort comes from the manor built there by Peter of Aigueblanche, Bishop of Hereford (England), in the middle of the 13th century. The name of this Manor of Hereford was corrupted into Harefort, then Hallefort, and eventually Alfort. The National Veterinary School of Alfort was settled several centuries later in the manor and its estate.

History

On 1 April 1885, 40% of the territory of Maisons-Alfort was detached and became the commune of Alfortville.

In 1905, Buffalo Bill stayed two months in Maisons-Alfort while his famous Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show performed in Paris.

Demographics

Immigration

Place of birth of residents of Maisons-Alfort in 1999 Born in Metropolitan France Born outside Metropolitan France 82.8% 17.2% Born in Overseas France Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth¹ EU-15 immigrants² Non-EU-15 immigrants 1.9% 3.4% 3.1% 8.8% ¹This group is made up largely of pieds-noirs from Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), and to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. Note that a foreign country is understood as a country not part of France as of 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics. ²An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. Note that an immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.

Administration

Maisons-Alfort is divided into two cantons:

• Maisons-Alfort-Nord, with 23,704 inhabitants;
• Maisons-Alfort-Sud, with 27 399 inhabitants.

Points of interest

• École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort
• Jardin botanique de l'École nationale vétérinaire d'Alfort
• Musée Fragonard d'Alfort

Personalties

• Tariq Abdul-Wahad,basketball player
• Thomas N'Gijol,comedien
• Nicole Tourneur,women writers

International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Maisons-Alfort is twinned with Moers in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.

Transport

Maisons-Alfort is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 8: École Vétérinaire de Maisons-Alfort, Maisons-Alfort — Stade, and Maisons-Alfort — Les Juilliottes.

It is also served by two stations on Paris RER line D: Maisons-Alfort – Alfortville and Le Vert de Maisons.

See also

• Communes of the Val-de-Marne department

References

• INSEE
• Mayors of Essonne Association (French)

External links

• Official website