Évry (French pronunciation: [evʁi] ⓘ) is a former commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France, prefecture of the department of Essonne.

[2] It is located 25.0 km (15.5 mi) from the center of Paris, in the "new town" of Évry Ville Nouvelle, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated commune.

In 1881 the name of the commune was changed into Évry-Petit-Bourg at the request of entrepreneur Paul Decauville, owner of Ateliers de Petit-Bourg, a large boiler works located in Évry and at the time the largest employer in the area.

Évry had just been chosen to become a "new town" of the suburbs of Paris, destined to host tens of thousands of suburbanites, and so the name "Petit-Bourg" (literally meaning "little borough, small town" in modern French, although etymologists think that this name was in fact the corruption of an old Gallic word with a totally different meaning) was deemed too old fashioned and improper for the new large suburban city of Évry to be built.

Another measure taken by the local authorities has been to declare certain quarters a "zone franche" which means that businesses starting up in these areas are exempt from corporation tax along with many other social benefits and aids which makes Évry an attractive town for future entrepreneurs.

Pope John Paul II made a visit on 22 August 1997, and although car parks were requisitioned as far away as Corbeil-Essonnes, apart from invited guests, fewer than 500 people turned out for the event, which means that Évry may hold the world record for the smallest crowd at a papal appearance.

[citation needed] In 2003, the Socialist mayor, Manuel Valls (born 13 August 1962, in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, French nationality by naturalisation in 1982), and who is also the constituency deputé (Member of Parliament) and a qualified avocat (barrister), embarked upon a massive safeguard plan designed to entirely renovate the more defavourised areas which includes much demolition of the obsolete 1960s buildings (especially in the "Pyramides" quarter, once the French equivalent of the Gorbals), and the upgrading of the more recent residential structures and schools.

On 31 January 2006, in the Sénat during the 14th ceremony of the "Prix du Trombinoscope 2005" (press awards), Manuel Valls was elected "Local Representative of the Year".

With the heavy defeat of the Socialists on the national scale during the 2007 elections, Manuel Valls has taken a prominent position in the party and has been given the nickname of "Le Sarko de la gauche" (the left wing Sarkozy).

During the 2008 municipal elections, Manuel Valls was returned to office as mayor on the first round with 70.3% of the vote, which gave him the highest national score for a first-round ballot, making Evry the safest Socialist commune in France.

The 3 June 2012 saw an exceptional reunion of the town council where Manuel Valls resigned as mayor after being nominated as Minister of the Interior in the new Socialist government.

The place of first adjoint is now held by Pacôme Adjourouvi who was born and grew up in the defavourised Pyramides sector and is now an avocat at the tribunal of Evry.

At the other end of the age span, Évry has only three residences for the elderly, and the cemetery, proportionally small compared to towns with similar a population figure, is closed to further inhumations.

It is also the official seat of the arrondissement of Évry, although in reality the sous-préfecture buildings and administration are located in the neighboring commune of Corbeil-Essonnes.

Although the true story of the kidnapping and death of Ben Barka is still a mystery, many people believe he is buried either under the mosque or in the nearby forest of La Garenne.

1,500 adepts were admitted into the grounds coming from as far away as Canada, but only 500 visitors watched the ceremony on a giant screen erected in the nearby park.

On 16 November 1943, Resistance fighter Missak Manouchian was arrested during a gun battle on the banks of the Seine, a few hundred yards from Évry railway station after his group had been outnumbered.

Towards the end of the war, General Patton crossed the Seine with his tanks at Évry en route from Avranches going towards the east.

[18] The pontoon bridge at Évry Petit Bourg was constructed on Aug 26, 1944 by the 238th Engineer Combat Battalion, part of the US VII Corps under Gen. J. Lawton Collins, US First Army (Gen. Courtney Hodges).

[19] Although Évry is a modern "new town", which is generally synonymous with "concrete jungle", 50% of its surface area is parkland and open space.

[citation needed] Évry is the home of the European space project Ariane, at the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES).

Évry is also twinned with Nowy Targ in Poland, Troisdorf in Germany, Estelí in Nicaragua, and Repentigny in Quebec, Canada.

(Maison du Monde, 509, Patio des Terrasses, Évry, sharing the address with a branch of Amnesty International.)