Vitry-le-François

Vitry-le-François (French pronunciation: [vitʁi lə fʁɑ̃swa] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It is located on the river Marne and is the western terminus of the Marne–Rhine Canal. Vitry-le-François station has rail connections to Paris, Reims, Strasbourg, Metz, Dijon and several regional destinations.

Vitry-le-François
Subprefecture and commune
The town hall in Vitry-le-François
Coat of arms
Location of Vitry-le-François
Vitry-le-François Show map of France Vitry-le-François Show map of Grand Est
Coordinates: 48°43′32″N 4°35′07″E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Marne
Arrondissement	Vitry-le-François
Canton	Vitry-le-François-Champagne et Der
Intercommunality	Vitry, Champagne et Der
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Jean-Pierre Bouquet[1]
Area 1	6.45 km2 (2.49 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	11,349
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,600/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	51649 /51300
Elevation	105 m (344 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

The present town is a relatively recent construction, having been built in 1545 at the behest of King Francis who wished to replace, on a new site, Vitry-en-Perthois, which in 1544 had been entirely destroyed as part of the backwash from the king's Italian War of 1542–46.^[3] The new Vitry was to be a modern city, constructed according to a plan produced by Girolamo Marini. The king's role in its creation resulted in Vitry-le-François receiving the king's name as part of its own name.

At the beginning of World War I in August 1914, Joseph Joffre established the Grand Quartier Général at the Place Royer-Collard.

In 1961, a terrorist attack took place on a train going between Strasbourg and Paris.

Demography

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 7,385 —     1800 6,925 −0.91% 1806 7,194 +0.64% 1821 6,909 −0.27% 1831 6,976 +0.10% 1836 6,822 −0.45% 1841 7,749 +2.58% 1846 7,412 −0.89% 1851 7,795 +1.01% 1856 7,151 −1.71% 1861 7,263 +0.31% 1866 7,431 +0.46% 1872 6,898 −1.23% 1876 7,616 +2.51% 1881 7,760 +0.38% 1886 7,670 −0.23% 1891 8,022 +0.90% 1896 8,400 +0.93%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 8,561 +0.38% 1906 8,487 −0.17% 1911 8,511 +0.06% 1921 8,568 +0.07% 1926 8,876 +0.71% 1931 9,082 +0.46% 1936 9,061 −0.05% 1946 7,584 −1.76% 1954 11,131 +4.91% 1962 14,795 +3.62% 1968 16,879 +2.22% 1975 19,372 +1.99% 1982 18,261 −0.84% 1990 17,033 −0.87% 1999 16,737 −0.19% 2007 14,873 −1.47% 2012 13,065 −2.56% 2017 12,133 −1.47%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE[5]

Features

• Its church of Notre-Dame is a 17th-century building with fine 18th-century monuments.
• A convent of the Récollets was later converted to contain the town hall, the court-house, a library and a small museum.
• There is a bronze statue of Pierre Paul Royer-Collard (1763–1845), the politician and philosopher, a native of the district.^[6]

Twin towns

Vitry-le-François is twinned with:

• Tauberbischofsheim, Germany, since 1961

Personalities

• René Gateaux (1889–1914), mathematician
• Guy Georges (born 1962), serial killer
• René Herbin (1911–1953), classical pianist
• Abraham de Moivre (1667–1754), mathematician
• Étienne-Gabriel Morelly (1717–1778), proto-communist philosopher
• Simhah ben Samuel of Vitry (fl. c. 1100), Talmudist

Climate

Climate data for Vitry-le-François (Frignicourt) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1974–present)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	16.6 (61.9)	21.1 (70.0)	26.0 (78.8)	29.1 (84.4)	34.0 (93.2)	37.1 (98.8)	41.7 (107.1)	40.3 (104.5)	34.5 (94.1)	29.4 (84.9)	23.3 (73.9)	17.7 (63.9)	41.7 (107.1)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	6.5 (43.7)	7.9 (46.2)	12.3 (54.1)	16.3 (61.3)	20.1 (68.2)	23.5 (74.3)	26.1 (79.0)	25.9 (78.6)	21.5 (70.7)	16.3 (61.3)	10.3 (50.5)	7.0 (44.6)	16.1 (61.0)
Daily mean °C (°F)	3.7 (38.7)	4.4 (39.9)	7.6 (45.7)	10.7 (51.3)	14.6 (58.3)	17.7 (63.9)	19.9 (67.8)	19.7 (67.5)	15.9 (60.6)	12.0 (53.6)	7.2 (45.0)	4.4 (39.9)	11.5 (52.7)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	0.9 (33.6)	0.9 (33.6)	2.9 (37.2)	5.1 (41.2)	9.0 (48.2)	11.9 (53.4)	13.7 (56.7)	13.5 (56.3)	10.2 (50.4)	7.6 (45.7)	4.1 (39.4)	1.7 (35.1)	6.8 (44.2)
Record low °C (°F)	−22.0 (−7.6)	−14.8 (5.4)	−11.1 (12.0)	−4.9 (23.2)	−1.5 (29.3)	2.3 (36.1)	5.3 (41.5)	4.1 (39.4)	1.0 (33.8)	−3.9 (25.0)	−10.7 (12.7)	−16.0 (3.2)	−22.0 (−7.6)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	55.9 (2.20)	51.3 (2.02)	50.5 (1.99)	47.1 (1.85)	62.1 (2.44)	53.3 (2.10)	59.0 (2.32)	58.9 (2.32)	57.3 (2.26)	65.5 (2.58)	60.0 (2.36)	73.7 (2.90)	694.6 (27.35)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	11.2	10.4	10.1	8.7	10.1	9.2	8.2	7.7	8.2	10.3	11.2	12.3	117.7
Source: Meteociel[7]

See also

• Communes of the Marne department
• Champagne Riots
• French wine
• 1961 Vitry-Le-François train bombing