Montrouge

For other uses, see Montrouge (disambiguation).

Montrouge
Avenue de la Republique
Coat of arms
Paris and inner ring départements
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Hauts-de-Seine
Arrondissement	Antony
Canton	Montrouge
Intercommunality	Châtillon-Montrouge
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Jean-Loup Metton (NC)
Area1	2.07 km2 (0.80 sq mi)
Population (2006)2	46,800
• Density	23,000/km2 (59,000/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	92049 / 92120
Elevation	67–85 m (220–279 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Montrouge (French pronunciation: ​[mɔ̃.ʁuʒ]) is a commune in the southern Parisian suburbs, located 4.4 km (2.7 mi) from the center of Paris, France. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. After a long period of decline, the population has increased again in recent years.

History

There are a number of colorful traditions about the name "Montrouge", but it appears that it in fact comes from the Latin words monte (mountain) and rubeus (red), meaning Red Mountain, because of the reddish color of the earth in this area.

The name of the community was first mentioned in monastery documents in 1194.

Throughout the Middle Ages, the hamlet was home to monasteries and a number of religious orders, while in the 15th century it became the site of quarries used for the reconstruction of Paris. The late sixteenth century saw the plain of Montrouge named "reserve for royal hunts", and during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries it was known for its windmills, which, sadly, have all now disappeared.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, most of the commune of Montrouge was annexed to Paris, forming what is now called Petit-Montrouge, in the 14th arrondissement of Paris. The remainder of Montrouge was preserved as an independent town.

In 1875, the town gained a few thousand square metres from the neighboring communes of Châtillon and Bagneux (principally in the neighborhood (le quartier) called Haut Mesnil).

On 8 January 2015, Municipal Police officer Clarissa Jean-Philippe was shot and killed in the commune, purportedly by Amedy Coulibaly. Coulibaly was reported to be an accomplice of Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, the suspected perpetrators of the Charlie Hebdo shooting. The next day, he was gunned down by police during a siege that left four hostages dead and several other people injured.

Economy

Industrial development started in 1925 and soon, many printing factories were to be found in the town. Most of these have disappeared today. Since the early years of the twenty-first century, professional services and telecommunications have been the main business activities.

• Aeronautical and electronic engineering, Alstom, Schlumberger, Siemens AG, ST Microelectronics
• Telecommunications, Orange
• The Papier d'Arménie (lit. Armenian Paper)

Public transport

Montrouge is served by the Mairie de Montrouge station on Paris Métro Line 4, and by the Châtillon – Montrouge station on Paris Métro Line 13. The Châtillon - Montrouge station is located at the border between the commune of Montrouge and the commune of Châtillon, on the Châtillon side of the border.

The Mairie de Montrouge station was opened on 23 March 2013 as part of the extension of Metro Line 4 to the south. Two further stations (Verdun Sud, and Bagneux) have been planned, but no date has been set for their opening.

Bus line 68 runs from Metro Châtillon Montrouge all the way up through Montparnasse, the Louvre, the Paris Opera and ends at the Place de Clichy, the site of the Moulin Rouge.

The Arts in Montrouge

Montrouge was the home of a number of well-known twentieth century artists, listed below. Currently the town is also well known for two contemporary art exhibitions:

• The Montrouge Contemporary Art Show, which has existed for over 50 years
• The JCE, that is European Young Artists exhibition.

Personalities

Some famous Montrougiens:

• Émile Boutroux (1845–1921), philosopher and member of the Académie française
• Coluche (b. 1944 in Paris–1986) (Michel Collucci), comedian and sometime political figure, founder of the "Restos du coeur" soup kitchens.
• Robert Doisneau (1912–1994), photographer, born in Gentilly, lived in Montrouge from 1937 until his death.
• Raymond Federman (b. 1928) American novelist and academic currently living in San Diego.
• Jean-Jacques Goldman, lyricist and singer, he has lived most of his life in Marseille.
• William Grover-Williams (1903–1945), racing driver and Special Operations Executive agent.
• Pablo Picasso (1881–1973). The cubist had his workshop in Montrouge from 1916 to 1918.
• Fernand Léger (1881-1955) lived in Montrouge and ran a painting school there.
• Bernard Pivot (b. 1935). Famous journalist and television personality. Born in Lyon,Mr. Pivot has lived in Montrouge since 2003.
• Claude Sautet (1924–2000), director and screenwriter.
• Octave Lapize (1887–1917), winner of the 1910 Tour de France
• Robert Brasillach (1909–1945) French author and journalist.

• Nicolas de Staël (1914-55) is buried in Montrouge Cemetery.

Others

• Fort de Montrouge, one of the 16 forts built around Paris in the 1840s, located mainly in the commune of Arcueil.

See also

• Communes of the Hauts-de-Seine department

External links

• Montrouge official website (French)
• INSEE