Last modified: 2003-05-31 by ivan sache
Keywords: val-d'oise | cergy | cergy-pontoise |
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Source: Mairie de Cergy
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Cergy is a municipality of ca. 50,000 inhabitants,
Cergy was built around the last loop made by the river Oise before
flowing into the Seine.The city is made of three parts:
Cergy is the main center of the ville nouvelle of
Cergy-Pontoise, which includes the municipalities of Pontoise (29,000
inh.), Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône (19,000 inh.),
Jouy-le-Moutier (17,000 inh.),
Eragny (15,000 inh.),
Osny (12,000 inh.), Vauréal
(12,000 inh.), Menucourt (5,000 inh.),
Courdimanche (4,500 inh.),
Neuville-sur-Oise (1,000 inh.), and
Puiseux-Pontoise (175 inh.).
A ville nouvelle (new city) is a city created close to an
important urban area, in which both economical and residence
functions are expected to develop. The basic idea was to develop new
harmonious areas where people could both work and live. This would
have decreased the traffic problems in dense urban areas and restrict
the growth of the crowded traditional cities.
The villes nouvelles created around
Paris are Cergy-Pontoise (north-west),
Marne-la-Vallée (east), Melun-Senart (south-east),
Evry-Ville-Nouvelle (South-East), and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
(south-west).
Ivan Sache, 27 August 2002
On the municipal flag, the blue C (for Cergy) most probably represents the loop of Oise. The urban landscape outlined in black symbolizes the association of traditional buildings (church) and more modern ones (with flat and semi-circular roofs). In France, the church belltower is the symbol of traditional villages, at least in areas where houses are grouped around the church. You might remember the posters of François Mitterrand's electoral campaign in 1981: there was a belltower in the background, supposed to be an element of "the Peaceful Strength" (la Force Tranquille), the campaign motto. The insurance company Groupama also used the green silhouette of a village, associated with the motto Son nom est un village ("Its name is a village").
Ivan Sache, 27 August 2002