A history of Nanterre

Research about the town of Nanterre

By Robert, Abdelkader & Marjolain

Hello everybody! To start with, the city of Nanterre is located in the suburbs of Paris.

Our city consists essentially in 10 neighborhoods; the name of my neighborhood is Pablo Picasso. There isn't too much urban segregation because the city has tried to mix the neighborhoods in terms of incomes, and there are a lot projects scattered all across town.

Our City Hall was built in a particular style because it looks very much like a boat.

The city of Nanterre is very important in the Parisian region, because there are lots of inhabitants: there are 89,966 people in Nanterre, 2.2 million people in Paris, 11.73 million people in the Ile de France region, and 65.3 million people in France.

Moreover, Nanterre is a town, but it is also where the first business center of Europe stands; it is called La Défense (though La Défense covers three different towns), and it is also where the department administrative center is. Our department is Les Hauts de Seine and the zip code is 92. There are 101 departments in France, Paris is both a city and a department, and its zip code is 75. Nanterre is also the place where our department Justice Court and General Council are, so it is an important administrative town.

Let me tell you a little bit more about La Défense business center.

It's really wide and the tourists really like it because they also go to the mall there and there is a nice view on the Champs Elysées: indeed, when you stand on the promenade of La Défense, you can see the Arch of the Human Rights (or Arch of La Défense) and it stands in the same line as the Arch of Triumph on the Champs-Elysées.

Personally, I love my city because it is a multicultural city with lots of equalities.

The main urban choices about my town were to build the department prefecture, La Défense center, and to build a lot of social housing after World War II to replace the slums where lots of immigrants (mainly from Algeria) used to live. There were 14,000 people living in the slums, and now the University of Nanterre Paris-Ouest stands in the place of the shacks.

The slums used to be very dirty as you can imagine, until President Charles de Gaulle decided to have them destroyed in 1964 and it was decided that the inhabitants would be relocated in temporary transit constructions that were very huge. These constructions were supposed to be temporary but it took several years before people could live in decent social housing.

And finally the slums disappeared in the 1970s.

To finish, it is because of the war and the slums that our city became a multicultural city because after the war, the country was in need of man power at low prices and that’s why France brought many migrants from its colonies.

I forgot to say that stars like Tom Cruise, the Pussy Cat Dolls have attended a music party to inaugurate the cinema complex of La Défense business center.

By Robert, Abdelkader & Marjolain

A very yummy article on French food

French food,

by Samia , Salima et Hassiba

How important is food in France? What is a typical meal like (starters, desserts) ? How long does a typical meal usually lasts? What are the occasions for a good meal? What are the traditional dishes in France? What are they in our place of origin?

The importance of food in France is great; it takes a lot of space in commercials and advertisements in order to take into account the fact that French food allows good results in terms of good health. A famous motto in the commercials say: “Eat five fresh fruit and vegetables a day”.

A typical meal in France usually starts with a raw vegetable (such as grated carrots or sliced tomatoes in a tasty oil seasoning, or a fresh melon, etc.); then, the entrée includes a source of animal protein (eg meat, fish, eggs), plus a serving of starchy foods (eg rice, potatoes, pasta, etc.); and to finish, we have a dairy product (eg some cheese or a yoghurt), followed with a fresh fruit, either plain or in a salad, or a “patisserie”or pastry cake. A French meal doesn’t come without a loaf of crusty baguette bread, to go with the dish seasoning or with the cheese.

In French schools, the cafeteria chef has to respect properly balanced diets to make sure the students eat healthy food. There is a commission once a month to check these healthy diets are respected. The commission includes the school’s chef, the school’s nurse, a teacher, an administrator and a parent.

A typical meal in France usually lasts about one hour to one and a half hour.

The opportunities for a good traditional meal in France are numerous, like Christmas, during a meal with our family or good friends, to celebrate someone’s birthday.

Every region in France has its traditional dishes, like the cassoulet (in Toulouse), the roasted duck breast (in Lyon ), the pork sausages, the Foie Gras, the crêpe (in Britain), the olive purée or tapenade (in the southeastern region), etc. ..

And we also have lots of dishes of foreign origins, such as Algerian origin: the couscous, the loubia (a bean dish), the chorba (a very tasty and sometimes spicy soup) , the Pastilla pastry dish (a pancake stuffed with chicken and almonds, yummy!!), the Mahjouba (a pancake stuffed with onions, tomatoes and peppers ), etc.

These are so many French people of Algerian origin in France that these popular dishes in Algerian culture have become very popular in French culture too!

Also: not all French people eat frogs! We have never tasted one before! What about you?

Presentation by Samia , Salima et Hassiba.

A short story of the "Iron" Lady

The Eiffel Tower

By Josse & John

The Eiffel Tower, or " Iron Lady " is an iron tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris, along the river Seine .

The engineer, Gustave Eiffel gave his name to his creation " The Eiffel Tower". Gustave Eiffel designed and built the tower. The construction started in 1887 and was completed on 31 March 1889. It is the most recognizable structure in the world, and the most visited in the world (7.1 million people visited it in 2011), the tower has three levels for visitors, the third level platform is 278 metres high, the highest accessible level to the public in the European Union. Altogether, the Eiffel Tower stands 323 metres high.

The Iron Lady weighs 10,100 tonnes and has 1,705 stairs. The Iron Lady is repainted every 7 years with 52 tonnes of paint. On the 2nd level, there is a very famous restaurant named the Jules Verne. You have to book well in advance to be able to eat there. The 2nd level can withstand 1.600 people.

At the top of the tower, you can find the TV and radio antennas that help Paris and its suburbs have access to all kinds of channels.

My friend John and I visited the Eiffel Tower just once, and I was on the 2nd level. Around the Eiffel Tower, there are many shops, that sell T-Shirts, Keyrings, sweaters about the " Iron Lady ", etc ...

It is very impressive and very symbolic of France.

The Engineer, Gustave Eiffel, was born on 15 December 1832 and he died in December 1923, when he was 91 years old. He is the engineer of the Eiffel Tower and also helped build the statue of liberty when he was 26. When no one could find a way to have the Liberty Lady Rise on its feet, Gustave Eiffel said : “It will stand!” And it still does today, doesn’t it, in spite of the storms and all.

There are 5 movies about the Eiffel Tower and Gustave Eiffel.

When the Eiffel Tower was being built for the 1889 Universal Exhibition (that celebrated the 100^th anniversary of the French revolution), it was supposed to last only 20 years. Every one complained : “This structure will never stand, or never more than for 30 years, it's useless and ugly”. Well, obviously, it still stands too, and isn’t so ugly. Indeed, it was an immediate success right after it was open to the public.

Gustave Eiffel is one of the most popular engineers in the world.

By Josse and John, 2.6

Check out this outstanding identity project by Lennie:

Here is Justine's beautiful project.