Asnières-sur-Seine (; 'Asnières-on-Seine') is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department in the Île-de-France region of northern France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the northwestern suburbs of the French capital. The area should be reached by Line 15 of the Paris Métro by 2030. The inhabitants are called the Asniérois (masculine) and Asniéroises (feminine) in French.

Name

thumb|left|Avenue de la Marne

Asnières-sur-Seine was originally known simply as Asnières. The name was recorded for the first time in a papal bull of 1158 – as Asnerias, from Medieval Latin asinaria, meaning "donkey farm". The poor soil of Asnières, where heather grew in medieval times, was probably deemed suitable only for the breeding of donkeys. By the early 20th century it had become a favourite boating centre for Parisians, and its industries included boat building.

On 15 February 1968 the commune was officially renamed Asnières-sur-Seine to distinguish it from other French communes also called Asnières.

thumb|left|Old post office

Demographics

Immigration

Departmental representation

The commune is divided between two cantons (departmental constituencies):

  • Asnières-sur-Seine: composed of part of the commune of Asnières-sur-Seine. Currently represented by Josiane Fischer (UDI) and André Mancipoz (LR).
  • Courbevoie-1: composed of part of the commune of Courbevoie and of the remainder of the commune of Asnières-sur-Seine. Currently represented by Daniel Courtès (LR) and Marie-Pierre Limoge (UDI).

Economy

Lesieur – a major producer of cooking and table oils and part of the Avril Group – has its headquarters in Asnières.

Education

Public schools

(fully financed by the commune, department, or region):

  • 20 kindergarten / nursery schools (écoles maternelles);
  • 16 elementary / primary schools (écoles élémentaires);
  • 4 junior high schools: the Collège André Malraux, the Collège Auguste Renoir, the Collège François Truffaut, and the Collège Voltaire;
  • 3 senior high schools: the Lycée d'enseignement adapté Martin Luther King, the Lycée professionnel de Prony, and the Lycée général et technologique Auguste Renoir;
  • additionally, the Institut départemental médico-éducatif Gustave Baguer specializes in the education of hearing-impaired children and young people.

Private schools

(partly financed by the commune, department, or region) include:

  • The École catholique Sainte-Agnès (preschool and elementary school)

Asnières in art

Georges Seurat

Bathers at Asnières by Georges Seurat depicts a scene of 19th century leisure and developing industry in this suburb of Paris.

Between 1884 and 1886 Seurat painted Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grand Jatte, using a new technique – which came to be known as pointillism – of forming an image from patterns of tiny coloured dots.

Vincent van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh made a series of paintings of Asnières. Influenced by impressionism and pointillism, he modified his traditional style and used vivid colour, shorter brushstrokes, and perspective to engage the viewer. His views of the banks of the Seine represent an important progression towards his later landscape paintings. In Asnières, within walking distance of his brother Theo's flat in Montmartre, van Gogh painted parks, cafés, restaurants, and the river.

Local landmarks

thumb|The [[Hôtel de Ville, Asnières-sur-Seine|Hôtel de Ville]]

  • The Château d'Asnières is a stately home dating from the mid-18th century.
  • The Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques in Asnières, dating from 1899, is believed to be Europe's oldest public pet cemetery (or "zoological necropolis").
  • The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1899.
  • Gare Lisch, an antique train station, is in Asnières-sur-Seine.

Twin towns – sister cities

Asnières-sur-Seine is twinned with:

  • Spandau (Berlin), Germany
  • Stockton-on-Tees, England, United Kingdom

Notable people

  • Manuel Aeschlimann (born 1964), National Assembly deputy and Mayor of Asnières
  • Henri Barbusse (1873–1935), politician and writer, a street in the town was named after him
  • Maurice Hewitt (1884–1971), violinist
  • William Gallas (born 1977), footballer
  • Frédéric Gorny (born 1973), actor
  • Ginette Keller (1925–2010), composer
  • Axel Ngando (born 1993), footballer
  • Barbara Pravi (born 1993), singer
  • Gaston Rivierre (1862–1942), cyclist
  • Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890), painter

The old château was the death place of Anne Marie Victoire de Bourbon (1675–1700), daughter of Henri Jules de Bourbon and thus grand daughter of le Grand Condé, cousin to Louis XIV.

The Franco-Irish composer and pianist George O'Kelly died here in 1914.

Louis Vuitton opened his first workshop and resided here until his death. The workshop still stands today and some emblematic pieces are still made there (rigid trunks, leather models).

The Hutu Rwandan businessman and suspected war criminal Félicien Kabuga was arrested here on 16 May 2020 after 26 years as a fugitive for crimes against humanity committed during the Rwandan genocide. Specifically, he is accused of funding the genocide as well as buying thousands of machetes and importing them into Rwanda for use as weapons to kill Tutsis during the genocide.

See also

  • Communes of the Hauts-de-Seine department

References

  • Official website