Charenton-le-Pont

Charenton-le-Pont (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁɑ̃tɔ̃ lə pɔ̃] ) is a commune situated to the southeast of Paris, France. It is located 6.2 km (3.9 mi) from the centre of Paris, to the north of the confluence of the Seine and Marne rivers; the Pont (French for 'Bridge') part of the name refers to the stone bridge across the Marne. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.

Charenton-le-Pont
Commune
Arthur Dussault Square in Charenton
Coat of arms
Paris and inner ring departments
Location of Charenton-le-Pont
Charenton-le-Pont Charenton-le-Pont
Coordinates: 48°49′35″N 2°24′18″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Val-de-Marne
Arrondissement	Nogent-sur-Marne
Canton	Charenton-le-Pont
Intercommunality	Grand Paris
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Hervé Gicquel
Area 1	1.85 km2 (0.71 sq mi)
Population  (2021)	29,445
• Density	16,000/km2 (41,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC 01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC 02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	94018 /94220
Elevation	28–57 m (92–187 ft) (avg. 36 m or 118 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Public park in Charenton-le-Pont, nearby Charenton-Ecoles metro station

The Charenton Psychiatric Hospital is located in the neighbouring commune Charenton-Saint-Maurice, which changed its name in 1842 to Saint Maurice.

History

A Bronze Age hoard of weapons was found in the river Seine at Charenton in the late nineteenth century. Comprising swords, axes, spearheads and other miscellaneous objects, it is now in the British Museum.

Charenton was always a point of importance for the defence of the capital, and was frequently the scene of bloody conflicts. The fort of Charenton, located in Maisons-Alfort but intended to defend Charenton, is one of the older forts of the Paris defence.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Charenton was the scene of the ecclesiastical councils of the Protestant party, which had its principal church in the town.

In the now-named commune St Maurice, adjoining Charenton to the east, is the Hospice de Charenton, a psychiatric hospital, the foundation of which dates from 1641. Until the time of the Revolution it was used as a general hospital, and even as a prison, but from 1802 onwards it was specially appropriated to the treatment of mental illness.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, half of the commune of Bercy was annexed to the city of the Paris, and the remaining half was annexed to Charenton-le-Pont.

In 1929, the commune of Charenton-le-Pont lost about a third of its territory when the city of Paris annexed the Bois de Vincennes, a small part of which belonged to Charenton-le-Pont.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,500 —     1800 1,126 −4.01% 1806 1,264 1.95% 1821 1,400 0.68% 1831 1,977 3.51% 1836 2,558 5.29% 1841 3,393 5.81% 1846 3,505 0.65% 1851 3,219 −1.69% 1856 4,258 5.75% 1861 5,534 5.38% 1866 6,190 2.27% 1872 7,141 2.41% 1876 8,822 5.43% 1881 11,826 6.04% 1886 13,535 2.74% 1891 15,306 2.49% 1896 16,811 1.89%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 17,980 1.35% 1906 18,372 0.43% 1911 19,499 1.20% 1921 20,872 0.68% 1926 20,891 0.02% 1931 21,098 0.20% 1936 20,946 −0.14% 1946 21,457 0.24% 1954 22,079 0.36% 1962 22,530 0.25% 1968 22,300 −0.17% 1975 20,468 −1.22% 1982 20,500 0.02% 1990 21,872 0.81% 1999 26,582 2.19% 2007 28,414 0.84% 2012 30,148 1.19% 2017 30,374 0.15%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Transport

Charenton-le-Pont is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 8: Liberté and Charenton — Écoles.

History

There was also another station in the commune that existed from 1849 to 1942 and then was demolished.

Education

As of 2015 the commune has 14 public and private schools.

• Public preschools (écoles maternelles): 4 vents, Cerisae, Champ des Alouettes, Conflans, Port au Lions, and Valmy
• Public elementary schools: Briand A, Briand B, Desnos, Pasteur, and Valmy
• Collège la Cerisaie (junior high school)
• Lycée Robert Schuman (public senior high school/sixth-form college)
• Notre dame des Missions (private school, elementary through senior high school/sixth form college)

Sport

Charenton shares the association football club CA Paris-Charenton with the nearby town Maisons-Alfort. They play in all red with blue shorts. They are a merger between CA Paris (founded in 1892)—who won the 1920 Coupe de France, were second place in the 1928 Coupe de France, played in the first two seasons of Ligue 1, and then played in Ligue 2 until 1963—and SO Charentonnais (founded in 1904). The two merged in 1964. The club is chaired by Oscar Gonçalves. They mainly play at the Stade Henri Guérin in Charenton, but also play many matches at the Stade Charentonneau in Maisons-Alfort.

Twin towns - Sister cities

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

Charenton-le-Pont is twinned with:

• Borgo Val di Taro, Emilia Romagna, Italy
• Büren, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
• Trowbridge, Wiltshire, United Kingdom
• Tempelhof-Schöneberg, Berlin, Germany
• Zikhron Ya'akov, Haifa District, Israel

Economy

• Essilor, headquarters
• Natixis, the bank has three sites (Liberté 1, Liberté 2 et Bercy) with around 5,000 people
• Crédit Foncier de France, headquarters at 4 quai de Bercy
• Porto Cruz, plant and distribution platform

See also

• Communes of the Val-de-Marne department
• Charenton Metro-Viaduct

External links

• This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Charenton-le-Pont". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 5 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 858.
• Charenton-le-Pont city council website (in French)
• Historical notes (in French)