Palaiseau

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Palaiseau
Subprefecture and commune
The Hôtel de Ville
The Hôtel de Ville
Coat of arms of Palaiseau
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Palaiseau
Palaiseau is located in France
Palaiseau
Palaiseau
Show map of France
Palaiseau is located in Île-de-France (region)
Palaiseau
Palaiseau
Show map of Île-de-France (region)
Coordinates: 48°42′52″N 2°14′45″E / 48.7145°N 2.2457°E / 48.7145; 2.2457
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentEssonne
ArrondissementPalaiseau
CantonPalaiseau
IntercommunalityCA Paris-Saclay
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Grégoire de Lasteyrie[1]
Area
1
11.51 km2 (4.44 sq mi)
Population
 (2023)[2]
37,471
 • Density3,256/km2 (8,432/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
91477 /91120
Elevation47–159 m (154–522 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Palaiseau (French pronunciation: [palɛzo]) is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 17 kilometres (10+1⁄2 miles) from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau.

A ranking from the newspaper Le Parisien in 2018 ranks Palaiseau as the third town in Essonne where it is good to be a parent.[3]

The town is home to several major French "Grandes écoles" on its territory: the École Polytechnique, the Institut d'optique Graduate School, ENSTA ParisTech, ENSAE ParisTech, the Institut Mines-Télécom, AgroParisTech as well as research centers Onera, Danone, Thales and EDF.

History

Palaiseau was a royal domain in the 6th century then again in the 18th century on the important road from Chartres to Paris. The population grew from the 19th century with the arrival of the railway connecting the town to Paris. Palaiseau then became a vacation spot, writers such as George Sand, Alexandre Dumas, Charles Péguy built their villas near the stations.

The Hôtel de Ville was commissioned as a private house in 1770.[4]

Inhabitants of Palaiseau are known as Palaisiens.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 1,639—    
1800 1,599−0.35%
1806 1,740+1.42%
1821 1,634−0.42%
1831 1,633−0.01%
1836 1,675+0.51%
1841 1,716+0.48%
1846 1,761+0.52%
1851 1,846+0.95%
1856 1,919+0.78%
1861 1,912−0.07%
1866 2,029+1.19%
1872 1,949−0.67%
1876 2,464+6.04%
1881 2,409−0.45%
1886 2,627+1.75%
1891 2,701+0.56%
1896 2,661−0.30%
1901 2,808+1.08%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 3,024+1.49%
1911 3,450+2.67%
1921 4,555+2.82%
1926 5,962+5.53%
1931 7,264+4.03%
1936 7,878+1.64%
1946 8,029+0.19%
1954 10,118+2.93%
1962 16,326+6.16%
1968 23,343+6.14%
1975 28,716+3.00%
1982 28,369−0.17%
1990 28,395+0.01%
1999 28,965+0.22%
2007 30,149+0.50%
2012 30,268+0.08%
2017 35,514+3.25%
2023 37,471+0.90%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2023)[6]

Education

As of 2016, the primary schools in Palaiseau have 2,770 students. There are 12 public preschools (maternelles) and 10 public elementary schools.[7]

Public secondary schools:[8]

The Institution Saint-Martin is a private school from preschool to high school.[7]

Colleges and universities

ParisTech has a strong presence in Palaiseau, with four member institutes: the École Polytechnique (one of the most prestigious engineering schools in France), École nationale de la statistique et de l'administration économique, École nationale supérieure de techniques avancées, and Institut d'optique Graduate School which are now located in Palaiseau, on the Plateau de Saclay. The first three institutes are now grouped together in the Polytechnic Institute of Paris and the last one is a member of the Paris-Saclay University.

Transport

Palaiseau is served by three stations on Paris RER line B: Palaiseau, Palaiseau – Villebon and Lozère (this last station is the closest to École Polytechnique). The station Massy-Palaiseau (RER B, RER C, T12 and also TGV, the French high-speed rail) is located in the nearby town of Massy.

Twin towns

Palaiseau is twinned with Unna, Germany.[9]

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. "Populations de référence 2023" (in French). National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 18 December 2025.
  3. à 12h10, Par Cécile Chevallier Le 23 mai 2018 (2018-05-23). "Palmarès des villes d'Ile-de-France où il fait bon être parent : Orsay mise sur le sport et la culture". leparisien.fr (in French). Retrieved 2024-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  4. "De la place de la Victoire à l'hôtel Tronchet" (PDF). Pal'Mag: Magazine de la Ville de Palaiseau. 1 April 2025. p. 18. Retrieved 15 September 2025.
  5. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Palaiseau, EHESS (in French).
  6. Population municipale entre 1968 et 2023, INSEE
  7. Palaiseau, Mairie de. "Les établissements scolaires maternels et élémentaires" (in French). Archived from the original on 2018-09-08. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  8. Palaiseau, Mairie de. "Au collège et au lycée" (in French). Archived from the original on 2016-09-13. Retrieved 2025-06-03.
  9. "List of Twin Towns in the Ruhr District" (PDF). Twins2010.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-02-25. Retrieved 2009-10-28.