Meaux


Meaux is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is east-northeast of the center of Paris.
Meaux is a subprefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department. In France a subprefecture is the chef-lieu of an arrondissement: Meaux is the subprefecture of the arrondissement of Meaux. It is also the chef-lieu of a smaller administrative division: the canton of Meaux. Finally, since its creation in 2003, Meaux has been the centre and the main town of an agglomeration community, the Communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Meaux.

Demographics

With a population of 53,526 inhabitants in 2014, Meaux is the second largest city in the Seine-et-Marne department after Chelles.
Meaux is, with Provins, Torcy and Fontainebleau, one of the four subprefectures of the department of Seine-et-Marne, Melun being the prefecture.

History and culture

Inhabitants of Meaux are called Meldois. Both names Meaux and Meldois originated with the Meldi, the Latin name of the original Gaulish tribe who occupied this area of the valley of the Marne river. Although during the Roman period the city was called Iantinum by the Romans, the name of the Meldi persisted and was finally kept for naming both the city and its inhabitants.
Historical buildings and monuments in Meaux are mainly located in the old city, inside the old defensive walls, still nowadays partially kept thanks to an important segment of the original surrounding wall from the Gallo-Roman period. A meander of the Marne river divides the old city into the North Quarter and the South Quarter. In the North Quarter there is the Meaux Cathedral, the episcopal palace and its gardens, the old seat of the chapter, part of the defensive walls, some keeps and towers, and the archaeological remains of the sanctuary of La Bauve, all-embracing the Gaulish period, the era of the early Roman Empire and the early Christian Era and subsequent centuries. The South Quarter of the old city mainly includes the historic covered market and the Canal Cornillon, built during the Middle Ages, in the year 1235. Centuries later, in 1806, during the Napoleonic era, was built the Canal de l'Ourcq, destined to the inland navigation when the Marne river is not navigable because of temporary sandbanks.
Meaux is nowadays mainly known for Brie de Meaux and the local variety of mustard. Following the official administrative French AOC there are two designations of Brie de Meaux: Brie de Meaux fermier and Brie de Meaux laitier. The Moutarde de Meaux recipe is since the 18th century a label commercially owned by the Pommery company and is nowadays derived not only in its traditional well known form but also in a variety of new different ingredient combinations: Honey Mustard, Green Pepper Mustard, Moutarde Royale etc.
Several festivals and concerts are celebrated in Meaux, venues for live music like the Music Festival "Musik'elles". There's a local public concert band in Meaux: L'Harmonie du Pays de Meaux. It is constituted by three different ensembles, following different ages: Les Minimes, Les Juniors and L'Harmonie de Meaux. The band is also one of the two official music academies of the town. The other one is the conservatory of the city.
Also, every summer for more than 30 years, during several weekends per summer, a show is played by stage actors in the esplanade situated between the cathedral and the episcopal palace: the Spectacle historique. The show represents the history of Meaux all along the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, and also, more recently, during World War I.
There is only one cinema in Meaux: The Majestic, a former stage theatre. In modern days there are three stage theatres in the city. One is the Théâtre Gérard Philippe, a private theatre, situated close to the covered market. Not far from the market, in the same area but in a bigger and more recent building, there is the official subsidised theatre of the city, the Théâtre Luxembourg, divided in two separated auditoriums in the same building: the Salle Luxembourg and the Salle du Manège. In an eastern area of Meaux, the Beauval quarter, there is the third stage theatre of the town, the Salle Champagne, located in the Espace Caravelle, a building dedicated to cultural activities. Private theatre companies and community arts associations play in all three theatres.
Two museums can be found in Meaux: the Musée Bossuet and the :fr:Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux|Musée de la Grande Guerre du pays de Meaux .

Relevant historical episodes

Middle Ages: Siege of Meaux

The Siege of Meaux took place between October 1421 and May 1422, during the Hundred Years' War between England and France. The besiegers were the English, under Henry V. The town's defence was led by the Bastard of Vaurus, notorious for his savagery. The siege commenced on October 6, 1421, and mining and bombardment soon brought down the walls. Casualties began to mount in the English army, including John Clifford, 7th Baron de Clifford who had been at the siege of Harfleur, the Battle of Agincourt, and received the surrender of Cherbourg. The English also began to fall sick rather early into the siege, and it is estimated that one sixteenth of the besiegers died from dysentery and smallpox. On 9 March 1422, the town surrendered, although the garrison held out. Under continued bombardment, the garrison gave in as well on 10 March, following a siege of six months. The Bastard of Vaurus was decapitated, as was a trumpeter named Orace, who had once mocked King Henry. Sir John Fortescue was then installed as English Captain of Meaux Castle.

World War I: First Battle of the Marne

During the First Battle of the Marne, the German troops were stopped at the gates of Meaux. This heroic action not only prevented the city from being taken by the Germans but also changed the course of the war. In 1932, at the place of the battlefield, the people of the United States of America had a monument erected in the memory of the French soldiers fallen in action. Called, in French, La Liberté éplorée, the sculpture by Frederick MacMonnies is popularly known among the French as Le Monument américain. Coordinates:

In 2011, beside the monument was built the Museum of the Great War.

Sports

The town is represented by the CS Meaux association football club. Many other sports are also practiced in Meaux like rugby or field hockey, especially water sports. There are in Meaux, for example different sporting clubs dealing with canoeing, scuba diving, swimming

Transport

Meaux is served by Meaux station on the Transilien Paris – Est suburban rail line and on several national rail lines. The rail line connecting Paris to Meaux was established in 1849. The nowadays SNCF train station, still in use, was built in 1890.
Alongside the Meaux rail station there is also the main bus station in the city, with more than 30 bus lines serving the whole eastern Paris metropolitan area.

Education

The commune has 36 public preschools and elementary schools.
Public junior high schools in Meaux:
Public senior high schools in Meaux:
Lycée du Gué A Tresme is in nearby Congis-sur-Thérouanne.
Private Catholic secondary schools:

Twin towns – sister cities

Meaux is twinned with: