Clichy, Hauts-de-Seine

Clichy (sometimes unofficially Clichy-la-Garenne) is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.4 km (4 miles) from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.

The headquarters of the L'Oréal Group, the world's largest company in cosmetics and beauty, Bic, one of the biggest pen producers in the world, and Sony France, a large electronics and media company, are located in Clichy.

Name

The name Clichy was recorded for the first time in the 6th century as Clippiacum, later corrupted into Clichiacum, meaning "estate of Cleppius", a Gallo-Roman landowner.

In the 13th century, the plain of Clichy was used as a garenne (a word which gave English warren), i.e. a hunting park, a game preserve for the exclusive use of the king or a lord, and so Clichy became known as Clichy-la-Garenne ("Clichy the Warren").

Between 1793 and 1795, during the French Revolution, Clichy-la-Garenne was renamed Clichy-la-Patriote (meaning "Clichy the Patriot"), perhaps because the word garenne reminded of the feudal privileges abolished in 1789.

After the Revolution, the French administration officially recorded the name of the commune as Clichy only, dropping the "la-Garenne". This is still the case today. However, in many instances the municipality of Clichy refers to the commune as Clichy-la-Garenne, although this is not the official name.

History

Clichy was the capital of the......
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