Département de l'Essonne

About Département de l'Essonne

The department has a unique position thanks to its major communication axes. At the heart of an international exchange and transport network (Orly airport, A6, A10 motorways, TGV stations), Essonne has benefited from a forward-looking economy. It hosts several competitiveness clusters, numerous research centers and laboratories such as the Synchrotron Soleil, the Genopole of Evry, the CEA of Saclay, or Paris-Saclay University. Its young population (over 30% of Essonne residents are under 20 years old) is a real asset. This population also benefits from high-level universities and grandes écoles: Paris-Saclay University, bringing together Paris-Sud and Evry-Val d'Essonne universities, the Ecole Polytechnique, the Ecole supérieure d'optique, Supélec, and many others. Nevertheless, Essonne has preserved a remarkable quality of life. With 49,000 hectares of natural environments (including 42,000 hectares of forests), over 400 kilometers of rivers, and 2,500 kilometers of paths, the department offers varied and picturesque landscapes to discover on the outskirts of the capital.