^{This page is part of © FOTW Flags Of The World website}

Fontenay-sous-Bois (Municipality, Val-de-Marne, France)

Presentation of Fontenay-sous-Bois
Former flag of Fontenay-sous-Bois

See also:

Presentation of Fontenay-sous-Bois

Fontenay-sous-Bois (52,646 inhabitants, 558 ha) is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department, in the eastern suburbs of Paris, bordering the Bois de Vincennes.

The first mention of Fontenay dates back to 847. In 982, a document indicates that the church of Fontenay was dependent on the Cathedral of Paris.
King Charles V had the waters of the Fontenay springs diverted to supply the watering troughs of the Château de Beauté. The conduits ran through the village, and the king exempted the inhabitants from the right of pre-harvest and the taxes levied for wolf hunting, provided they maintained and cleaned the conduits. Under the Ancien Régime, the seigneury of Fontenay belonged to the Abbey of Saint-Victor. Viticulture was the main agricultural activity.
In 1767, Jacques Maquer purchased the abbey's lands and became Lord of Fontenay. He then lived in a château, now gone, located in what is now the town hall park.
In 1779, the Clos d'Orléans was cleared of trees in the Bois de Vincennes to breed English horses and organize races in which the Duke of Chartres, father of King Louis Philippe, and the Count of Artois, who later became Charles X, participated. These races ceased in 1788, much to the regret of the inhabitants, for whom they provided a valuable source of income by selling their agricultural produce.

During the 19th century, residences proliferated. Artists (Nicolas Dalayrac, Pixérécourt), writers (Béranger, Hector Malot), and inventors (Beau de Rochas) found tranquility in Fontenay. The Nogent fort (located in Fontenay-sous-Bois) was built between 1841 and 1848.
In 1859, it became possible to travel to Paris by train via the Bastille line (This line is the precursor to the current Line A of theÎle-de-France RER, Regional Express Network).
In 1872, the mustard plaster factory, managed by Paul Jean Rigollot, who invented the product in 1866, opened on the edge of Vincennes at the site of the current Rigollots crossroads. Other industries established themselves in Fontenay, including the Gaveau piano factory and an umbrella factory near the present-day intersection that bears its name.
Fontenay suffered little during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. In December 1870, Prussian cannons bombarded the Nogent fort. It did not fall but was surrendered to the Prussians on January 26, 1871. The
inhabitants of Fontenay endured foreign occupation for several months.
The "Belle de Fontenay," a traditional potato variety and the oldest of the French firm-fleshed varieties, appeared in Fontenay-sous-Bois around 1885 and was registered in the official catalog of varieties in 1935 (upon its creation).

The First World War claimed more than 623 lives.
Many Fontenay residents fought in the Spanish Civil War on the side of the Republic. Three died there in 1937.
The Second World War claimed 390 lives: soldiers killed in action, prisoners, those executed, and those deported who joined the Resistance. On August 23, 24, and 25, 1944, fierce fighting took place between the Feldgendarmerie soldiers stationed in the Nogent fort and members of the Resistance organizations. The occupiers were driven out, but 30 residents of Fontenay paid with their lives for their heroism against the enemy, whose last, futile act was to bomb the freight station.

In 1960, the eastern plain, where the fruit orchards were located, was designated a ZUP (priority development zone). The Rigollots mustard plaster factory closed. The new town hall was inaugurated in 1973. The section of the A86 ring road linking the A3 and A4 motorways passes through Fontenay. It was opened in two phases: first the northern section, from the A3 to the Fontenay exit; then the southern section (from Fontenay to the A4) opened in 1989, including the Nogent tunnel. The presence of both motorway access and RER train stations has fostered significant economic growth, making Fontenay-sous-Bois a major office hub in eastern Paris.

Olivier Touzeau, 29 October 2025

Former flag of Fontenay-sous-Bois

Former flag of Fontenay-sous-Bois - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 29 October 2025

No municipal flag observed in the recent years.

According to the testimony of Pierre Berry (d. 1999), reported on the late Pascal Vagnat's website emblemes.free.fr, the flag of Fontenay-sous-Bois is vertically divided in two blue and yellow stripes. The colors came
from the town's coat of arms. A variant of the flag with the larger coat of arms of Fontenay-sous-Bois in the center has also been reported.
No photographic evidence found.

The coat of arms is blazoned:
Or an oak Vert acorned of the field, on a terrace in base Vert charged of a fess wavy Agent, the chief Azure an escarbuncle Or flanked by two fleurs-de-lis of the same.

Olivier Touzeau, 29 October 2025