| Essonne | |
| Native Name Lang: | fr |
| Type: | Department of France |
| Coordinates: | 48.5°N 19°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | France |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Île-de-France |
| Seat Type: | Prefecture |
| Seat: | Évry-Courcouronnes |
| Parts Type: | Subprefectures |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | Étampes Palaiseau |
| Leader Party: | LR |
| Leader Title: | President of the Departmental Council |
| Leader Name: | François Durovray[1] |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 1804 |
| Population Rank: | 14th |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Demographics Type1: | GDP |
| Demographics1 Footnotes: | [2] |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Total |
| Demographics1 Info1: | €58.462 billion (2021) |
| Demographics1 Title2: | Per capita |
| Demographics1 Info2: | €44,500 (2021) |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Department number |
| Blank Info Sec1: | 91 |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Arrondissements |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 3 |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Cantons |
| Blank1 Info Sec2: | 21 |
| Blank2 Name Sec2: | Communes |
| Blank2 Info Sec2: | 194 |
| Timezone1: | CET |
| Utc Offset1: | +1 |
| Timezone1 Dst: | CEST |
| Utc Offset1 Dst: | +2 |
| Footnotes: | French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries and lakes, ponds and glaciers larger than 1 km2 |
Essonne (in French pronounced as /ɛsɔn/) is a department in the southern part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659, across 194 communes.[3]
Essonne was formed on 1 January 1968, when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments. Its prefecture is Évry-Courcouronnes. Its INSEE and postcode number is 91.
The Essonne department was created on 1 January 1968, from the southern portion of the former department of Seine-et-Oise.
In June 1963, Carrefour S.A. opened the first hypermarket in the Paris region at Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (although the word "hypermarché" was first used only in 1966). Based on the ideas put forward by the American logistics pioneer Bernardo Trujillo,[4] the centre offered on a single 2500m² site a hitherto unknown combination of wide choice and low prices, supported by 400 car parking spaces.
In 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from Essonne and added to the department of Yvelines.
Essonne belongs to the region of Île-de-France.
It has borders with the departments of:
All of northern Essonne department belongs to the Parisian agglomeration and is very urbanized. The south remains rural.
The most populous commune is Évry-Courcouronnes, the prefecture. the 5 most populous communes are:[3]
| Commune | Population (2019) | |
|---|---|---|
| Évry-Courcouronnes | 66,851 | |
| Corbeil-Essonnes | 51,234 | |
| Massy | 50,644 | |
| Savigny-sur-Orge | 36,577 | |
| Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois | 35,830 |
In descending order, the other communes over 25,000 population are: Athis-Mons, Palaiseau, Vigneux-sur-Seine, Viry-Châtillon, Ris-Orangis, Yerres, Draveil, Grigny, Brétigny-sur-Orge, Étampes, Brunoy and Les Ulis.[3] Milly-la-Forêt is a notable example of its more rural communes.
See also: Departmental Council of Essonne. The department's most high-profile political representative has been Manuel Valls, who was Prime Minister of France from 31 March 2014 to 6 December 2016. Valls visited its main town, Évry, to deliver remarks following the Charlie Hebdo massacre of January 2015. The president of the Departmental Council is François Durovray, elected in 2015.
| Election | Winning Candidate | Party | % | 2nd Place Candidate | Party | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022[5] | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 65.43 | Marine Le Pen | FN | 34.57 | ||
| 2017[6] | Emmanuel Macron | LREM | 72.18 | Marine Le Pen | FN | 27.82 | ||
| 2012 | François Hollande | PS | 53.43 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 46.57 | ||
| 2007 | Nicolas Sarkozy | UMP | 52.08 | Ségolène Royal | PS | 47.92 | ||
| 2002 | Jacques Chirac | RPR | 84.96 | Jean-Marie Le Pen | FN | 15.04 | ||
| 1995[7] | Jacques Chirac | RPR | 53.30 | Lionel Jospin | PS | 15.04 | ||
Population development since 1876:
Essonne is twinned with: