The origin of the name Annemasse is uncertain. It could come from anAllobroges tribe;[4] it could be derived from the Gallic name Adnamatius;[5] it could be a reference to the Roman city of Annamatia inPannonia (current-dayHungary).[6] In ancient Roman times, Annemasse, avicus, was known as Namascae.
The climate istemperate with influences from theBornes Massif andLake Geneva. The coldest months are January and February; the hottest are July and August.[7] There is an annual average of 80 days with below zero temperatures. The minimum average is -1 °C and the maximum average is 26 °C. The annual rainfall is 975.7 mm with 118 rainy days a year.
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Robert Borrel of theSocialist Party (PS) held the mayorship in Annemasse from 1977 to 2008. Fellow party member Christian Dupessay was elected to succeed him following his retirement in2008. Dupessay was reelected in2014 and2020.
The main activity is commerce: due to the current foreign exchange situation, many Swiss residents come to Annemasse to purchase food and other commodities. A large proportion of the population work inGeneva, where the salaries are higher than in France.[11]
Annemasse has 1,898 company locations on its territory, a large share of it being shops and services. The three main companies operating in Annemasse areParker Hannifin (turnover: €134 million), Siegwerk (€107 million) andGéant Casino Annemasse (€17 million, enlarged in 2003).
Annemasse is an important crossroad. It is the last exit of the FrenchmotorwayA40 before the border and is thus well connected with the other cities of the region. It is also connected to Annecy via motorwayA41.
Local transport is done with 6 bus lines by the TP2A company (Transports publics de l'Agglomération d'Annemasse). Atram is connected to the Swiss border.
Annemasse has had arailway station since 1880. It is the second most important station of the department with 2,000 passengers a day. To encourage mobility, theCEVA project has extended the existing rail connection between Annemasse andGare de Cornavin through Genève Eaux-Vives.
Annemasse also has asmall airport for small tourist and business planes.
Annemasse has several religious places. There are twoRoman Catholic churches (Saint-André and Saint-Joseph), onesynagogue, twoMuslim religious organisations, as well as severalProtestant churches.
The Michael Servetus Monument in Annemasse, by Clothilde Roch
In 1903, 350 years after the dissidentMichael Servetus was executed inGeneva at the instigation ofJohn Calvin, a committee was formed to erect a monument in Servetus' honour - led by a French Senator, Auguste Dide, an author of a book on heretics and revolutionaries. The committee commissioned a local Geneva sculptor, Clothilde Roch, to do a statue showing a suffering Servetus. The work was three years in the making and was finished in 1907. However, supporters of Calvin were still strong in Geneva, and the statue was rejected.
The committee then offered the statue to the neighboring Annemasse, which in 1908 placed it in front of the city hall, with the following inscriptions:
“The arrest of Servetus in Geneva, where he did neither publish nor dogmatize, hence he was not subject to its laws, has to be considered as a barbaric act and an insult to the Right of Nations.” Voltaire
"I beg you, shorten please these deliberations. It is clear that Calvin for his pleasure wishes to make me rot in this prison. The lice eat me alive. My clothes are torn and I have nothing for a change, nor shirt, only a worn out vest.”Servetus, 1553
In 1942, the pro-NaziVichy Government took down the statue, as it was a celebration of freedom of conscience, and melted it. In 1960, having found the original molds, Annemasse had it recast and returned the statue to its previous place.[12]
^Goldstone, Nancy Bazelon; Goldstone, Lawrence (2003).Out of the Flames: The Remarkable Story of a Fearless Scholar, a Fatal Heresy, and One of the Rarest Books in the World. New York: Broadway.ISBN0-7679-0837-6.pp. 313-316
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