Le Plessis-Robinson

Le Plessis-Robinson (French pronunciation: [lə plɛsi ʁɔbɛ̃sɔ̃] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.5 km (6.5 mi) from the centre of Paris. As of 2017^[update], it has 29,100 inhabitants.^[3]

Le Plessis-Robinson
Commune
Le Plessis-Robinson, panorama
Coat of arms
Paris and inner ring départements
Location of Le Plessis-Robinson
Le Plessis-Robinson Show map of France Le Plessis-Robinson Show map of Île-de-France (region)
Coordinates: 48°46′52″N 2°15′48″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Hauts-de-Seine
Arrondissement	Antony
Canton	Châtenay-Malabry
Intercommunality	Grand Paris
Government
• Mayor (2023–2026)	Philippe Pemezec[1]
Area 1	3.43 km2 (1.32 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	28,893
• Density	8,400/km2 (22,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	92060 /92350
Elevation	86–172 m (282–564 ft) (avg. 170 m or 560 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Plessis was first mentioned in 839 as Plessiacus apud Castanetum, meaning plessis near Castanetum. A plessis was a village surrounded by a fence made of branches. In 1112 the village church was founded, of which the romanesque tower still survives as the oldest monument of Le Plessis. At the end of the 12th the village was renamed Le Plessis-Raoul, after the local lord Raoul, chamberlain of king Philip II of France. In 1407 it came into the hands of Jean Piquet de La Haye, who built a castle in the village, now called Le Plessis-Piquet. In 1614 a monastery of the Congregation of the Feuillants was built in the village. In 1682 Jean-Baptiste Colbert, Minister of Finances under Louis XIV had a pond dug which fed the fountains of the nearby Château de Sceaux. Pierre de Montesquiou d'Artagnan purchased the estate in 1699, and expanded the gardens. In 1790, as a result of the French Revolution, Antoine Moullé was elected the first mayor of Le Plessis. The commune was renamed Le Plessis-Liberté. The monastery was nationalised and demolished.^[4]

The commune was renamed back to Le Plessis-Piquet in 1801.^[5] In 1848, a guinguette (cabaret) was established in the area as a suite of interconnected tree houses. It was named Le grand Robinson after the tree house described in Swiss Family Robinson, a novel itself named after Robinson Crusoe. Several other popular establishments arose in the area and remained popular until the 1960s. In 1909, the commune of Le Plessis-Piquet was officially renamed Le Plessis-Robinson, after Le grand Robinson.^[6] In 1854, Louis Hachette bought the castle and the grounds. He later became the mayor of Le Plessis-Piquet and a city councillor. The village and the castle were ruined in the Franco-Prussian War, but the castle was rebuilt by the Hachette family.^[5]

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 235 —     1800 267 +1.84% 1806 245 −1.42% 1821 199 −1.38% 1831 217 +0.87% 1836 201 −1.52% 1841 234 +3.09% 1846 192 −3.88% 1851 259 +6.17% 1856 271 +0.91% 1861 321 +3.44% 1866 338 +1.04% 1872 266 −3.91% 1876 326 +5.22% 1881 348 +1.31% 1886 407 +3.18% 1891 397 −0.50% 1896 475 +3.65%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 549 +2.94% 1906 611 +2.16% 1911 686 +2.34% 1921 1,027 +4.12% 1926 2,299 +17.49% 1931 4,713 +15.44% 1936 7,779 +10.54% 1946 10,118 +2.66% 1954 13,163 +3.34% 1962 18,449 +4.31% 1968 22,590 +3.43% 1975 22,231 −0.23% 1982 21,271 −0.63% 1990 21,289 +0.01% 1999 21,618 +0.17% 2007 23,242 +0.91% 2012 28,673 +4.29% 2017 29,100 +0.30%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968-2017)[3]

New Urbanism

New Urbanism in Le Plessis-Robinson

In 2023 Le Plessis-Robinson is considered as the most significant project of New Urbanism in France. Philippe Pemezec, mayor between 1989 and 2018, started a project to reshape the city, in collaboration with the architects Marc & Nada Breitman, winners of the 2018 Driehaus Prize and part of the New Classical movement. Philippe Pemezec

Transport

Le Plessis-Robinson is not served by the Paris Métro, RER, or the suburban rail network. The closest station to Le Plessis-Robinson is Robinson station on Paris RER line B. This station is located in the neighbouring commune of Sceaux, 1.5 km (0.93 mi) from the town centre of Le Plessis-Robinson.

Education

Primary schools include two groups of nurseries and preschools, five standalone nurseries/preschools (maternelles), four standalone elementaries, and Ecole Raymond Aumont.^[8]

Secondary schools:^[9]

• Two junior high schools: Collège Claude Nicolas Ledoux and Collège Romain Rolland
• One senior high school: Lycée Montesquieu

Sites of interest

• Château park

Twin towns

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

Le Plessis-Robinson is twinned with the following towns:^[10]

• Woking, United Kingdom^[10][11][12]
• Arabkir, Yerevan, Armenia^[10]

See also

• Communes of the Hauts-de-Seine department

References

1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 30 November 2023.
2. "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
3. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
4. History of Le Plessis-Robinson (Middle Ages until Revolution)
5. History of Le Plessis-Robinson (19th century)
6. History of Le Plessis-Robinson (Guinguettes)
7. Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Le Plessis-Robinson, EHESS (in French).
8. "Les écoles." Le Plessis-Robinson. Retrieved on September 9, 2016.
9. "Les établissements." Le Plessis-Robinson. Retrieved on 9 September 2016.
10. Commune website
11. "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 12 July 2013.
12. "Woking Town twinning". The Woking Town Twinning Association. Archived from the original on 12 June 2013. Retrieved 19 July 2013.

External links

• Le Plessis-Robinson, official website
• Short documentary about Le Plessis-Robinson, 2023 (The Aesthetic City)