Cachan

French commune|nomcommune=Cachan
Cachan lying in the foreground, with the Medici Aqueduct in the background, and the city proper of Paris beyond

---

mapcaption=Paris and inner ring départements
lat_long=coord|48|47|41|N|2|20|06|E|region:FR_type:city
région=Île-de-France
département=Val-de-Marne
arrondissement=L'Haÿ-les-Roses
canton=
insee=|cp=
maire=|mandat=
intercomm=Communauté
d'agglomération
de Val de Bièvre
longitude=|latitude=|alt moy=|alt mini=|alt maxi=
km²=2.74
sans=
27,200
24,838
date-sans=Jan. 1, 2005 estimate)
(March 8, 1999 census
dens=9,927|date-dens=2005|

Cachan is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.7 km (4.2 miles) from the center of Paris.

The prestigious École Normale Supérieure de Cachan is located there.

Name

During the Middle Ages, Cachan was referred to in Medieval Latin texts as "Caticantum", later corrupted into "Cachentum", "Cachant", and then Cachan. Some understand "Caticantum" as meaning "singing of the cat", "mewing of the cat", but this is not certain. Some others see a connection with the verb "to hunt" ("captiare" in Vulgar Latin, "chacier" in Old French).

History

Cachan was originally a hamlet within the commune of Arcueil, later renamed "Arcueil-Cachan". The commune of Cachan was created on December 26, 1922 when it seceded from the commune of "Arcueil-Cachan", which was renamed back to Arcueil.

Neighboring communes

* Arcueil - north
* Villejuif - east
* L'Haÿ-les-Roses - southeast
* Bourg-la-Reine - southwest
* Bagneux - west

Transport

Cachan is served by two stations on Paris RER line B: Arcueil – Cachan and Bagneux.

External links

* [http://www.ville-cachan.fr/ Cachan town council website]
* [http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=48.790326,2.333307&spn=0.018667,0.037793&t=k&hl=fr Satellite preview on Google Maps]
* [http://www.cachan.info/ News around Cachan]
* [http://www.ign.fr/rubrique.asp?rbr_id=1087&lng_id=FR&CommuneId=81326 Cachan on the IGN website]
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=94016&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Social data from Cachan]
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=detail&id=17918&req=cachan&style=fiche Cachan entry from the Quid Encyclopedia]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Regions/ile-de-france/Departements/val-de-marne/cachan_940016.php towns around Cachan]
* [http://www.viamichelin.fr/viamichelin/fra/dyn/controller/mapPerformPage?strCountry=1424&strAddress=&strCP=94230&strLocation=Cachan&x=37&y=7#locid=22430lh59423010cNDguNzk0OA__cMi4zMzUwNw__ Cachan on Viamichelin]
*