Montereau-Fault-Yonne

For other uses, see Montereau (disambiguation).

Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Bridges over rivers Seine (foreground), Yonne (background) and statue of Napoléon
Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Location within Île-de-France region Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Seine-et-Marne
Arrondissement	Provins
Canton	Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Intercommunality	Deux Fleuves
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Yves Jégo (UDI)
Area1	9.1 km2 (3.5 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	16,682
• Density	1,800/km2 (4,700/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	77305 / 77130
Elevation	47–121 m (154–397 ft) (avg. 53 m or 174 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Montereau-Fault-Yonne (French pronunciation: ​[mɔ̃.tʁo fot jɔn]), or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

Name

The city takes its name from its geographical position on the confluence of the Yonne and the Seine rivers. Fault, also spelled faut comes from the verb faillir ("to fail") in its old meaning to fall. Montereau is where the Yonne falls into the Seine.

Sights

John XXIII Square, in Surville.

The town is split in three by the rivers, ville basse situated on the southern shore and Surville on the hill to the north. The old town centre is located in ville basse while Surville is an assembly of high rise buildings, erected after World War II, and is in many ways a typical cité in the Île-de-France. Some of these high rise buildings are now (2005) going to be destroyed and replaced by individual houses. The old château-park in Surville (now the site of a high school Lycée André Malraux) however gives a very nice view over the confluent and the Seine-et-Marne region. On the east side, between the two rivers, are the port and an industrial park.

History

In 1359, the King of Navarre Charles II of Navarre, who held the town because of his Champagne ascent, lost it to the regent of France (the future king Charles V).

Plaque commemorating the murder of John the Fearless, on the bridge crossing the Yonne river.

John the Fearless was killed on the town's bridge in September, 1419 by Tanneguy du Chastel and the sire de Barbazan, during a conference with the dauphin (who became in 1422 Charles VII). An inscription on the bridge recalls the event. In the collegiate church Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Loup there is a sword which has long been said to be John the Fearless'. But actually this sword is certainly more recent.

In 1420, Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, seized the town, which remained for eight years in the hands of the Anglo-Burgundian coalition. However, at the end of a long siege, the king Charles VII, helped by Chabannes and Dunois, managed to take it again.

In 1567, during the Wars of Religion, Condé briefly seized the town.

In 1587, the inhabitants of Montereau sided with the Catholic League, but in 1590 they accepted the legitimacy of the new king Henry IV.

Statue of Napoleon, erected during the Second Empire on the bridge of Montereau.

Montereau was also the place of one of the last victories of Napoleon on 14 February 1814.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Montereau-Fault-Yonne are called Monterelais.

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 3,115 —     1800 3,364 +1.10% 1806 3,453 +0.44% 1821 3,945 +0.89% 1831 4,153 +0.52% 1836 4,494 +1.59% 1841 4,450 −0.20% 1846 4,942 +2.12% 1851 5,465 +2.03% 1856 6,063 +2.10% 1861 6,217 +0.50% 1866 6,748 +1.65% 1872 6,714 −0.08%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1876 7,041 +1.20% 1881 7,306 +0.74% 1886 7,709 +1.08% 1891 7,672 −0.10% 1896 8,041 +0.94% 1901 7,929 −0.28% 1906 8,213 +0.71% 1911 8,617 +0.97% 1921 8,853 +0.27% 1926 9,314 +1.02% 1931 9,965 +1.36% 1936 9,322 −1.33% 1946 8,962 −0.39%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1954 10,119 +1.53% 1962 14,121 +4.25% 1968 19,789 +5.79% 1975 21,568 +1.24% 1982 19,413 −1.49% 1990 18,657 −0.50% 1999 17,625 −0.63% 2006 16,768 −0.71% 2007 16,802 +0.20% 2008 16,275 −3.14% 2009 16,266 −0.06% 2012 16,682 +0.85%
Data since 1962 : Population without double counting, Data since 2006 : Municipal population Source: Cassini, INSEE

The canton, which belonged to the arrondissement of Fontainebleau in the beginning, was attached to Provins in 1926. It has 14 communes and 33,934 inhabitants.

Economy

Historically, the city has sported a strong industrial base and thus has strong blue collar roots. In recent decades, unemployment has become an increasing problem, especially within the immigrant community in Surville.

Twin towns

Montereau is twinned with the British town of Otley, north of Leeds.

See also

• Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department

References

• INSEE

External links

• 1999 Land Use, from IAURIF (Institute for Urban Planning and Development of the Paris-Île-de-France région) (English)
• French Ministry of Culture list for Montereau-Fault-Yonne (French)
• Map of Montereau-Fault-Yonne on Michelin (English)