Boulogne-Billancourt
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Boulogne-Billancourt (often colloquially called simply Boulogne) is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.2 km. (5.1 miles) from the center of Paris. Boulogne-Billancourt is a sous-préfecture of the Hauts-de-Seine département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Boulogne-Billancourt.
Boulogne-Billancourt is the most populous commune in the suburbs of Paris and one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Formerly an important industrial pole, it has successfully recovered into business activities and is now hosting major communication companies headquarters in the business district of the Val de Seine.The original name of the commune was Boulogne-sur-Seine (meaning "Boulogne upon Seine").
In 1924, Boulogne-sur-Seine was officially renamed Boulogne-Billancourt, to reflect the development of the industrial neighborhood of Billancourt annexed in 1860 (read history section below).
Before the 14th century, Boulogne was a small village called Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud (meaning "Menuls near Saint-Cloud"). In the beginning of the 14th century, King Philip IV of France ordered the building in Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud of a church dedicated to the virgin of the sanctuary of Boulogne-sur-Mer (northern France), then a famous pilgrimage center. The church, meant to become a pilgrimage center closer to Paris than the distant city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, was named Notre-Dame de Boulogne la Petite ("Our Lady of Boulogne the Minor"). Gradually, the village of Menuls-lès-Saint-Cloud became known as Boulogne-la-Petite, and later as Boulogne-sur-Seine.
As for the name Billancourt, it was recorded for the first time in 1150 as Bullencort, sometimes also spelled Bollencort. It comes from Medieval Latin cortem, accusative of cors, meaning "enclosure", "estate", suffixed to the Germanic patronym Buolo (meaning "friend, brother, kinsman"), thus having the meaning of "estate of Buolo".
As well as Neuilly-sur-Seine and Levallois-Perret, Boulogne-Billancourt is one of the richest suburbs of Paris.On January 1, 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, the communes of Auteuil and Passy were disbanded and divided between Boulogne-Billancourt (then called Boulogne-sur-Seine) and the city of Paris. Boulogne-sur-Seine received a small part of the territory of Passy, and about half of the territory of Auteuil (including the area of Billancourt, which belonged to the disbanded commune of Auteuil).
In 1929, the Bois de Boulogne, which was hitherto divided between the communes of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine, was annexed in its entirety by the city of Paris. On that occasion, Boulogne-Billancourt, to which most of the Bois de Boulogne belonged, lost about half of its territoryWith the city of Sèvres, Boulogne-Billancourt is part of the communauté d'agglomération Val de Seine.Boulogne-Billancourt is served by two stations on Paris Metro line 10: Boulogne – Jean Jaurès and Boulogne – Pont de Saint-Cloud
It is also served by three stations on Paris Metro line 9: Marcel Sembat, Billancourt, and Pont de Sèvres.The animated TV show Code Lyoko is reportedly set in Boulogne-Billancourt. (source: French English)
The headquarters of Renault lies in Boulogne-Billancourt.BirthsBoulogne-Billancourt was the birthplace of:
* Pierre Bellemare, actor, writer
* Bertrand Blier (born 1939), screenwriter and film director
* Daniel Buren (born 1938), conceptual artist
* Guillaume Canet (born 1973), actor
* Leslie Caron (born 1931), film actress and dancer
* Edith Cresson (born 1934), politician, former Prime Minister of France
* Alain Feydeau, actor
* Anna Gavalda (born 1970), novelist
* André Glucksmann (born 1937), political philosopher
* David Hallyday, actor
* Louise L. Lambrichs (born 1952), novelist and screenwriter
* Claude Pinoteau, actor, director, writer, producer
* Jérôme Pradon, stage actor
* Xavier de Roux (born 1940), politician
* Baron Edmond James de Rothschild (1845-1934), philanthropist and activist for Jewish affairs
* Véronique Sanson, musician
* Catherine Spaak, actress
* Marie Trintignant (1962-2003), actress
* Gaspard Ulliel, (born 1984), actor
* Michael Vartan (born 1968), French-American actor
* Booba, MCTwin townsBoulogne-Billancourt is twinned with:
* Since 1955:
** Anderlecht, Belgium
** Neukölln, a borough of Berlin, Germany
** Hammersmith and Fulham, London, United Kingdom
** Zaanstad, Netherlands
* Since 1968:
** Marino, Italy
** Pančevo, Serbia
** Ra'annana, Israel
* Since 1993:
** Irving, Texas, United States
** Sousse, Tunisia*The French animated television series Code Lyoko supposedly takes place in Boulogne-Billiancourt, or its location is at least modeled after the city.
* Boulogne-Billancourt city council website (in French)
* History of Billancourt (in French)
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