Courbevoie


Courbevoie is a commune located in the Hauts-de-Seine department of the Île-de-France region of France. It is a suburb of Paris, from the center of Paris. The centre of Courbevoie is situated from the city limits of Paris.
La Défense, a business district hosting the tallest buildings in the Paris metropolitan area, spreads over the southern part of Courbevoie.

Name

The name Courbevoie comes from Latin Curva Via and means "curved highway", allegedly in reference to a Roman road from Paris to Normandy that made a sharp turn to climb the hill over which Courbevoie was built.

Administration

Courbevoie is divided into two cantons: Canton of Courbevoie-1 and Canton of Courbevoie-2.

History

A wooden bridge was built crossing the Seine at Courbevoie by order of King Henry IV when in 1606 his royal coach fell into the river while being transported by ferry. Rebuilt in stone during the eighteenth century, this was replaced by a metal bridge in 1942.
The Convent of the Penitents founded in 1658 by Jean-Baptiste Forne was located in Courbevoie until the Revolution of 1789.
In 1840, the body of Napoleon was transported from Saint Helena, where he had been exiled and died, to Cherbourg. It was then transferred to the steamer la Normandie and transported to Val-de-la-Haye, where it was transferred to the small ferry la Dorade and transported to Courbevoie. It was then carried by road through the streets of Paris.
During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.
The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1858.

Transport

Courbevoie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare suburban rail line: Courbevoie and Bécon-les-Bruyères. Courbevoie is also served by Esplanade de La Défense station on Paris Métro Line 1, in the business district of La Défense.
There are also a large number of city buses that come through the bustling La Défense station.
When it comes to air transportation, Courbevoie can be served by Paris's Charles de Gaulle Airport as well as Paris-Orly to the south and Beauvais Airport to the north.

Education

Courbevoie has multiple preschools and elementary schools. Junior high schools include:
Senior high schools include:
  • École européenne Paris La Défense
  • Lycée Paul Lapie de Courbevoie
  • Lycée Paul Painlevé Courbevoie
  • Collège Les renardières et Lycée Lucie Aubrac
  • Groupe scolaire Montalembert
  • University of Pôle Léonard de Vinci

    Notable people

  • Georges Lamothe, composer, pianist and organist
  • Henri Letocart, organist and composer
  • Hélène Krzyżanowska, pianist and composer
  • Albert Gleizes, cubist artist, painter, theorist
  • Louis-Ferdinand Céline, writer
  • Jacques Henri Lartigue, photographer and painter
  • Arletty, actress and singer
  • Roy Benson, stage magician
  • Louis de Funès, actor and comedian
  • Henri Betti, composer
  • Madeleine Kamman, cook, culinary teacher, and author
  • Jean-Pierre Worms, representative to the French Parliament
  • Michel Delpech, singer-songwriter
  • Michel Blanc, actor
  • Franck Tchiloemba, basketball player
  • Colomba Fofana, athlete
  • Lamine Kanté, basketball player
  • Massiré Kanté, footballer
  • Raoul Loé, footballer
  • Axel Augis, gymnast
  • William Rémy, footballer
  • Yoann Wachter, footballer
  • Marie-Bernadette Mbuyamba, basketball player
  • Bilal Coulibaly, basketball player

    International relations

Courbevoie is twinned with:
  • Enfield, United Kingdom
  • Freudenstadt, Germany
  • Beit Mery, Lebanon

    Mayors of Courbevoie

  • Antoine Le Frique
  • Joseph Derbanne
  • Nicolas Rousselot
  • Jean-Baptiste Chevalier
  • Constant Grebaut
  • Désiré Maurenq
  • Constant Grebaut
  • Charles Blondel
  • Jean-François Durenne
  • Jean-Baptiste Weiss
  • Auguste Colas
  • Frédéric Bourgin
  • Auguste Bailly
  • Antoine Rolland
  • Jules Lefevre
  • François le Chippey
  • Léon Boursier
  • Charles Mering
  • Augustin Loiseau
  • Joseph Victor
  • Pierre Fouquart
  • André Grisoni
  • Gabriel Roche
  • Marius Guerre
  • Gabriel Roche
  • Charles Deprez
  • Jacques Kossowski

    Demographics

Population

Immigration

Economy

has its head office in the Tour Total in La Défense and in Courbevoie. Areva has its head office in the Tour Areva in Courbevoie. Saint-Gobain also has its head office in Courbevoie.
The headquarters of INPI, the French government office for patents, copyrights, and trademarks, is in Courbevoie.