Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Essonne
| Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois | ||
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Town Hall
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 Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs |
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| Coordinates: 48°38′13″N 2°20′25″E / 48.6369°N 2.3403°ECoordinates: 48°38′13″N 2°20′25″E / 48.6369°N 2.3403°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Île-de-France | |
| Department | Essonne | |
| Arrondissement | Palaiseau | |
| Canton | Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois | |
| Intercommunality | Val d'Orge | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Olivier Leonhardt | |
| Area1 | 9.27 km2 (3.58 sq mi) | |
| Population (2006)2 | 34,725 | |
| • Density | 3,700/km2 (9,700/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 91549 /91700 | |
| Elevation | 37–90 m (121–295 ft) | |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (often abbreviated to SGdB) is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 23.5 km. (14.6 miles) from the center of Paris, in the arrondissement of Palaiseau, in the Essonne department, in the Île-de-France region.
Inhabitants of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois are known as Génovéfains. There has been a settlement in what is now Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois since Roman times. In 1800 it was still a small settlement with around 100 inhabitants. After the armistice in 1918 the population was counted at less than 800. The boom started in the 1920s when inhabitants of Paris wanted affordable housing. This boom was in part because the railway station of Perray was built, connecting the town to Paris. The population at the moment is over 30.000 inhabitants, making it one of the larger settlements in the Essonne departement.
In 1926 the Château de la Cossonnerie was converted to a retirement home for White émigrés. It is locally known as the Maison Russe. It is still a retirement home but also a centre for Russian Culture.
In 1963 Carrefour opened its first hypermarket in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, at more than 2 500 square meters the largest in France at the time. This store is still active.
Ilan Halimi, the young French Jew, who was kidnapped and tortured (leading to his eventual death) in 2006 by a group called the Gang of Barbarians, was found in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.
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