| Gif-sur-Yvette | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Gif-sur-Yvette (Essonne).svg |
| Map Size: | 270px |
| Demonym: | Giffois |
| Coordinates: | 48.7018°N 2.1339°W |
| Arrondissement: | Palaiseau |
| Canton: | Gif-sur-Yvette |
| Insee: | 91272 |
| Postal Code: | 91190 |
| Mayor: | Yann Cauchetier[1] |
| Term: | 2023 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | CA Paris-Saclay |
| Area Km2: | 11.60 |
| Elevation M: | 61 |
| Elevation Min M: | 57 |
| Elevation Max M: | 172 |
Gif-sur-Yvette (in French pronounced as /ʒif syʁ ivɛt/, "Gif-on-Yvette") is a commune in southwestern Île-de-France, France. It is located in the Vallée de Chevreuse, 22.9km (14.2miles) from the centre of Paris (at Notre-Dame), in the Essonne department on the departmental border with Yvelines. In 2021, it had a population of 22,352.
The town is crossed by and named after the river Yvette.The total area is 11.6km2 and 4.07km2 is green spaces and woods.
The commune of Gif-sur-Yvette is composed of three main parts:
The commune includes a number of woods such as the Hacquinière wood and the D'Aigrefoin wood.
The neighbouring communes are Villiers-le-Bâcle, Saint-Aubin, Saclay, Orsay, Bures-sur-Yvette, Gometz-le-Châtel, Gometz-la-Ville and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.
Human presence on the Moulon Plateau originates in Neolithic times. Agriculture was developed, notably during the Roman era. Between the 12th and the 18th century, an important Benedictine abbey was housed in Gif. In the 19th century, amid the Industrial Revolution, Gif remained largely agricultural, with operating mills in particular.
In the 1770s, the Château de Button by architect Pierre Desmaisons was completed in Gif. In 1946, the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) installed an office and research facility on the property.[2]
In 1867, the town was linked to Paris by train with the Ligne de Sceaux in the valley, which would later become the southern branch of the current-day RER B line.
Following the First World War, the Gif commune experienced an important demographic change, with an increasing population. The town took the name of Gif-sur-Yvette in 1930.
Just after the Second World War, Gif-sur-Yvette acquired an international scientific reputation, with the CNRS and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) moving there. The CEA discovered radioactive contamination in a private home in Gif-sur-Yvette in 1974; the home had been built upon a site where needles containing radon gas were once manufactured,[3] starting in 1915. The needles were used to sterilise infected tissue—an idea developed by Marie Curie.
The town was extended in 1975, with the creation of the Chevry neighbourhood, from areas ceded by the Gometz-la-Ville and Gometz-le-Châtel communes.
The Église Saint-Rémi (Saint Rémi church), a structure of Romanesque and Gothic architecture, was built in the 12th century. It was registered as a historic monument in 1938.
Some ruins remain of a Benedictine abbey which was built in the 12th century and became a national property in 1789 amid the French Revolution. It was officially registered in 1963.
Inhabitants of Gif-sur-Yvette are known as Giffois (masculine) and Giffoises (feminine) in French.
Gif-sur-Yvette is situated in the "Science Valley" of the Yvette River. Numerous research organisations exist in the area, such as the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS), the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (Commissariat à l'énergie atomique et aux énergies alternatives, CEA), Supélec (École supérieure d'électricité), the LGEP (Laboratoire de génie électrique de Paris, associated with Supélec), SOLEIL Synchrotron (Source Optimisée de Lumière d'Energie Intermediaire du LURE) and the Institute of Plant Biotechnology. Further, Gif-sur-Yvette is home to the former Centre national d'étude et de formation of the National Police.[4]
The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) operates, since 1950, a "permanent central college" in Gif-sur-Yvette, the Benoît Frachon Centre, situated along the Yvette River.
Gif-sur-Yvette is served by two stations on Paris RER line B: Gif-sur-Yvette and Courcelle-sur-Yvette.Like all the train stations on this line, one train goes towards/past Paris (Aéroport Charles de Gaulle 2 TGV or Mitry-Claye) and the other goes towards the other end of the line : Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse.The trains arrive generally at 15-minute intervals.