This article is about the French commune named Colombes. For a definition of the word "colombes", see the Wiktionary entry colombes. Coordinates: 48°55′23″N, 2°15′18″E
Colombes is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.6 km. (6.6 miles) from the center of Paris.
Name
The name Colombes comes from Latin columna (Old French colombe), meaning "column". This is interpreted as referring either to a megalithic column used in ancient times for druidic cult which stood in Colombes until its destruction during the French Revolution, or to the columns of an atrium in a ruined Gallo-Roman villa that also stood in Colombes.
History
On March 13, 1896, 17% of the territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of Bois-Colombes (literally "Colombes Woods").
On May 2, 1910, 19% of the (reduced) territory of Colombes was detached and became the commune of La Garenne-Colombes.
Thus, the commune of Colombes is now only two-third the size of its territory before 1896.
Demographics
Immigration
Place of birth of residents of Colombes in 1999
| Born in Metropolitan France |
Born outside Metropolitan France |
| 78.9% |
21.1% |
Born in
Overseas France |
Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth¹ |
EU-15 immigrants² |
Non-EU-15 immigrants |
| 2.1% |
2.6% |
3.6% |
12.8% |
¹This group is made up largely of pieds-noirs from Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), and to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. Note that a foreign country is understood as a country not part of France as of 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.
² An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. Note that an immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants. |
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Administration
The city is divided into three cantons:
Transport
Colombes is served by three stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line: Colombes, Le Stade, and La Garenne-Colombes.
Twin town
Sport
The stadium was built in 1907. Officially named the Stade Olympique Yves-du-Manoir, the Olympic Stadium of Colombes was the site of the opening ceremony and several events of the 1924 Summer Olympics. The arena's capacity was increased to 60,000 for the 1938 World Cup. The stadium lost its importance after the restoration in 1972 of Paris' 49,000-seat Parc des Princes. In the 1990s, three of the four grandstands were torn down due to decay and the stadium's capacity is now down to 7,000.
External links
 Communes in the metropolitan area of Paris |
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| Population over 2 million |
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| Population over 75,000 |
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| Population over 50,000 |
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| Population over 25,000 |
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| Population under 25,000 |
1,460 other communes
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