The eastern part of Nanterre, bordering the communes ofCourbevoie andPuteaux, contains a small part of theLa Défense business district of Paris and some of thetallest buildings in the Paris region. Because the headquarters of many major corporations are located in La Défense, the court of Nanterre is well known in the media for the number of high-profile lawsuits and trials that take place in it. The city of Nanterre also includes theParis West University Nanterre La Défense, one of the largest universities in the Paris region.
Inhabitants are calledNanterrien(ne)s orNanterrois(es).[citation needed]
Archeological discoveries made between 1994 and 2005 found a Gallic necropolis which has been dated to the third century BC, and also call into debate both the exact location of the pre-Roman capital of theParisii and the initial site ofLutetia, the Roman era Paris.[4] The large necropolis, as well as working people's homes from some time later in the ancient era, is near the bank of the Seine, in the northwest of Nanterre, and might be the sacred place that is referred to etymologically. The archeological work in Nanterre has suggested over 15 hectares (37 acres) of pre-Roman or Roman-era construction. These archeological findings may be an indication that Nanterre was the closest pre-Roman settlement to the modern centre of Paris.[5]
Lutetia is mentioned byJulius Caesar in 50 BCE, reporting an assembly in Lutetia in 53 BC between himself, commander of the Roman Legions, and local Gallic leaders.[5] Although this had been thought to possibly beÎle de la Cité, largely since Caesar mentions an island, the river at Nanterre follows two channels around an island. In 52 BC, the Parisii took up arms with the Gallic war leaderVercingetorix, and were defeated byTitus Labienus, one of Caesar's legates. Caesar mentions in hisCommentarii that the Parisii destroyed the bridges and set fire to Lutetia before the arrival of the Roman forces.[6][5]
TheHôtel de Ville (town hall), designed in the shape of a pyramid, was completed in 1973.[11]
On 27 March 2002, Richard Durn, a disgruntled local activist, shot and killed eight town councilors and 19 others were wounded at the town hall in what the French press dubbed theNanterre massacre. On 28 March, the murderer killed himself by jumping from the 4th floor of36 Quai des Orfèvres, in Paris, while he was questioned by two policemen about the reason for his killings.[12][13]
In June 2023, seventeen year oldNahel Merzouk was killed by a police officer following a traffic stop. His death sparkedviolent unrest around France.[14]
Therugby union clubRacing 92 opened the newParis La Défense Arena in October 2017 and played their first game in the new facility in December 2017.[19] It has a capacity of 32,000 for rugby and 40,000 for concerts. The venue opened as U Arena, but received its current name in June 2018[20] through a sponsorship deal with Paris La Défense, the company that manages the La Défense business district.[21]
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such aspieds-noirs inNorthwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.
2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.
.svg)
