Palaiseau

Palaiseau (French pronunciation: [palɛzo]) is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 16.9 km (10.5 mi) from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau.

Palaiseau
Subprefecture and commune
Palaiseau Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Palaiseau
Palaiseau Show map of France Palaiseau Show map of Île-de-France (region)
Coordinates: 48°42′52″N 2°14′45″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Essonne
Arrondissement	Palaiseau
Canton	Palaiseau
Intercommunality	CA Paris-Saclay
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Grégoire De Lasteyrie[1]
Area 1	11.51 km2 (4.44 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	36,067
• Density	3,100/km2 (8,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	91477 /91120
Elevation	47–159 m (154–522 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Palaiseau was a royal domain in the 6th century then again in the 18th century on the important road from Chartres to Paris. The population grew from the 19th century with the arrival of the railway connecting the town to Paris. Palaiseau then became a vacation spot, writers such as George Sand, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Péguy built their villas near the stations. A ranking from the newspaper Le Parisien in 2018 ranks Palaiseau as the third town in Essonne where it is good to be a parent.^[3]

The town is home to several major French "Grandes écoles" on its territory: the École Polytechnique, the Institut d'optique Graduate School, ENSTA ParisTech, ENSAE ParisTech, the Institut Mines-Télécom, AgroParisTech as well as research centers Onera, Danone, Thales and EDF.

Inhabitants of Palaiseau are known as Palaisiens.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,639 —     1800 1,599 −0.35% 1806 1,740 +1.42% 1821 1,634 −0.42% 1831 1,633 −0.01% 1836 1,675 +0.51% 1841 1,716 +0.48% 1846 1,761 +0.52% 1851 1,846 +0.95% 1856 1,919 +0.78% 1861 1,912 −0.07% 1866 2,029 +1.19% 1872 1,949 −0.67% 1876 2,464 +6.04% 1881 2,409 −0.45% 1886 2,627 +1.75% 1891 2,701 +0.56% 1896 2,661 −0.30%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 2,808 +1.08% 1906 3,024 +1.49% 1911 3,450 +2.67% 1921 4,555 +2.82% 1926 5,962 +5.53% 1931 7,264 +4.03% 1936 7,878 +1.64% 1946 8,029 +0.19% 1954 10,118 +2.93% 1962 16,326 +6.16% 1968 23,343 +6.14% 1975 28,716 +3.00% 1982 28,369 −0.17% 1990 28,395 +0.01% 1999 28,965 +0.22% 2007 30,149 +0.50% 2012 30,268 +0.08% 2017 35,514 +3.25%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

Education

As of 2016^[update], the primary schools in Palaiseau have 2,770 students. There are 12 public preschools (maternelles) and 10 public elementary schools.^[6]

Public secondary schools:^[7]

• Junior high schools: Collège César-Franck, Collège Charles-Péguy, Collège Joseph-Bara
• Senior high schools: Lycée professionnel Henri-Poincaré, Lycée Camille Claudel

The Institution Saint-Martin is a private school from preschool to high school.^[6]

Colleges and universities

ParisTech has a strong presence in Palaiseau, with four member institutes: the École Polytechnique (one of the most prestigious engineering schools in France), École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique, École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées, and Institut d'optique Graduate School which are now located in Palaiseau, on the Plateau de Saclay. The first three institutes are now grouped together in the Polytechnic Institute of Paris and the last one is a member of the Paris-Saclay University.

Transport

Palaiseau is served by 3 stations on Paris RER line B: Palaiseau, Palaiseau – Villebon and Lozère (this last station is the closest to École Polytechnique). The station Massy-Palaiseau (RER B, RER C, T12 and also TGV, the French high-speed rail) is located in the nearby town of Massy.

Twin towns

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Palaiseau is twinned with Unna, Germany.^[8]

See also

• Communes of the Essonne department