Évry is a former commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, prefecture of the department of Essonne. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Évry-Courcouronnes.
It is located 25.0 km (15.5 mi) from the center of Paris, in the “new town” of Évry Ville Nouvelle, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated commune.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Essonne |
| Canton | Évry |
| Area1 | 8.33 km2 (3.22 sq mi) |
| Population (2017) | 54,477 |
| Density | 6,500/km2 (17,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
History
In 1965 Évry became part of the French new town initiative and took its current name. Before then it was known as “Évry-Petit-Bourg” and had a population of only a few thousand.
When Évry was built, Orly was the primary international airport of France, and many international companies such as Digital, Hewlett-Packard, and Alstom established their head offices in Évry. However, with the expansion of Charles de Gaulle Roissy airport, all the larger companies have moved out, causing the downfall of the many smaller service companies which catered to the lunchtime needs of the thousands of staff who were either displaced or made redundant.
Amongst the few international companies remaining are the hotel and catering firm of Accor and the supermarket chain of Carrefour. Although both have a postal Cedex address in Évry, geographically they are in Courcouronnes.
The town has tried to counteract this exodus by increasing the capacity of the commercial center, the Agora, to 235 shops, mostly selling the same wares (54 ready-made women’s wear, 14 shoe shops, 28 men’s wear, 13 children’s wear, 15 jewellers, 9 mobile phone shops, 9 opticians, and 19 restaurants and snack bars). The economy of the Agora has also been hit by the recession. A total of 29 shops and one restaurant are vacant. 24 are on the upper level where the rents are almost double that of the lower level shops. During the week the car parks are now “pay by the hour” to discourage rail commuters from saturating the parking space during the day to the detriment of shoppers. Weekend parking is free.
Transport
Évry is served by three stations along the two branches: Évry-Val-de-Seine, Évry – Courcouronnes Centre, and Le Bras-de-Fer.
The town is bordered to the west by the A6 motorway, south by the National 104, and the National 7 running north to south divides the town in two. The Seine marks the eastern limit of the town. A new port has recently been built to accommodate an increase in barge traffic.
Economy
Accor and Arianespace have their former headquarters and headquarters, respectively, in Courcouronnes, near Évry. Carrefour’s Hypermarket division has its head office in Courcouronnes, near Évry.
Education
As of 2016 the commune has 42 schools with 7,200 students.
The commune has six junior high schools:
- Collège des Pyramides
- Collège Galilée
- Collège Le Village
- Collège Montesquieu
- Collège Paul Éluard
Senior high schools:
- Lycée Auguste Perret
- Lycée Charles Baudelaire
- Lycée du Parc des Loges
Lycée François Truffaut is in nearby Bondoufle, Lycée Pierre Mendès France is in nearby Ris-Orangis, Lycée Georges Brassens is in nearby Courcouronnes, and Lycée Robert Doisneau is in nearby Corbeil-Essonnes.
Private schools
- Collège-Lycée Notre-Dame-De-Sion
University:
- University of Évry Val d’Essonne
Religion
Évry has the following religious edifices (in descending order of attendance):
- Grand Mosque of Évry and Islamic Centre (largest in France)
- Cathedral of the Resurrection
- Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons)
- Evangelist Centre (Protestant)
- Adventist Church
- Parish church of St Peter & St Paul (extremely rare 12th century building oriented north/south instead of east/west)
- Synagogue
- Notre Dame de l’Esperance
- Convent of Notre Dame de Sion
There is also a very strong presence of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Évry, with a new Kingdom Hall on the Route Nationale 7 nearly opposite the pagoda.
Sports
Several évryens clubs illustrated in various disciplines such as AS Evry in football (soccer) who played in the third division national league and the Paris Île-de-France, the Corsairs of Evry in American football. The Peaux Rouges in ice hockey who play in the third national division, and the North South Viry Evry Essonne athletics.
Being city-stage of the Tour de France in 2001, it was also bid to host the Grand Prix of France.
In June 2012, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced that the now-closed Ris-Orangis horse racing track in Évry had been chosen as the site for a proposed new stadium for the national rugby union team.