A bit of history


A rich historical heritage made up of castles, farms and ancient villages, but also the magnificent buildings of the Menier chocolate company still show what the area was like before the creation of Marne-la-Vallée.


Chessy city centre © Photo: Eric Morency


It is not just that in the 1960s that France had a policy of voluntary town planning.  In order to absorb an unprecedented demographic growth and manage urban development better, General de Gaulle decided to create "new towns".
 
There were 9 in total, 5 of which were in the Paris region :

  • In the Paris region: Cergy-Pontoise, Evry, Marne-la-Vallée, Melun-Sénart and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines.
  • Outside in the Paris region: the Isle d'Abeau (near Lyon), Val de Reuil (Rouen), Villeneuve d'Ascq Lille) and Rives de l'Etang de Berre (Marseille).

  
In these areas of Operation of National Interest status, its Local Authorities takes over the initiative of town and country planning operations from the State.  They appear as a priority area in the 1965 Urban Development Plan, Marne-la-Vallée had to more particularly contribute to the rebalancing between the East and the West of the Ile-de-France Region.

The first quarters of the "new town" were built in Noisy-le-Grand.  The 1970s were difficult, housing was difficult to acquire and facilities took time to be established.  However, in 1976, the A4 was opened and the following year, it was the turn of the RER's A line.
 
Without a doubt thanks to this, the "new town" really got off the ground in the 1980s.  Likewise, it grew bigger in 1987 upon signature of the agreement with the Euro Disney company whose first amusement park would open in 1992.

In the new 1994 Urban Development Plan, Marne-la-Vallée seemed to be a "large-scale Europe centre".  The TGV station was opened that year and development has not stopped since.

The number of inhabitants has already multiplied by 2½ in 30 years, going from 103,000 in 1975 to more than 265,000 in 2005.  And it's not over yet.  Because of the potential for development that they still have, 3 regions (Sénart, the Isle d'Abeau and of course Marne-la-Vallée) have retained their "new town" status.