Vitry-sur-Seine is a commune in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France, 7.5 km from the centre of Paris.

Name

Vitry-sur-Seine was originally called simply Vitry. The name Vitry comes from Medieval Latin Vitriacum, and before that Victoriacum, meaning "estate of Victorius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. In 1897 the name of the commune officially became Vitry-sur-Seine (meaning "Vitry upon Seine"), in order to distinguish it from other communes of France also called Vitry.

Main sights

Culture

For some years, Vitry-sur-Seine operated a cultural policy of bringing art to all. For this reason, the commune contains over 100 contemporary sculptures, notably in establishments of public education (schools, secondary schools and High Schools). Vitry hosts the Musée d'Art Contemporain du Val-de-Marne (Val-de-Marne's Museum of Contemporary Art). Opened on 18 November 2005, this museum offers in addition to the workshops of plastic arts, an auditorium and a cinema for art and experimental film. Vitry is one of the cities that contributed to the development of the Hip hop movement in France. Consequentially, urban art has a very important place in the city

Transport

Vitry-sur-Seine is served by two stations on Paris RER line C: Vitry-sur-Seine and Les Ardoines. Orly Airport is located near Vitry-sur-Seine.

Demographics

The city can be separated into three distinct parts: the center containing numerous cités HLM (Housing projects), peripheral neighborhoods belonging to the middle class, and a large industrial area along the Seine river. The bordering towns are Ivry-sur-Seine, Villejuif, Chevilly-Larue, Thiais, Choisy-le-Roi, Alfortville. In 2017 the population of the city was estimated at 93,500 inhabitants. Vitry-sur-Seine is the 46th most populated city of France and the seventh of Île-de-France. The rate of unemployment is 26.5%, while national average is under 10%.

Immigration

As of circa 1998 Ivry-sur-Seine and Vitry had a combined Asian population of 3,600. That year about 250 Asians from those communes worked in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, and the overall demographics of Ivry and Vitry Asians were similar to those in the 13th arrondissement.

Administration

Vitry is divided into two cantons (districts):

Cités (Housing projects)

Education

the commune has 23 preschools (maternelles), and 21 elementary schools, with a combined total of 9,000 students. Paris 12 Val de Marne University is the area university.

Twin towns – sister cities

Vitry-sur-Seine is twinned with:

Notable people