Échirolles

Échirolles town hall with Eugène Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People reproduced on its façade

Coat of arms

Échirolles

Location within Rhône-Alpes region

Échirolles

Coordinates: 45°08′37″N 5°43′06″E / 45.1436°N 5.7183°ECoordinates: 45°08′37″N 5°43′06″E / 45.1436°N 5.7183°E

Country

Échirolles-Est, Échirolles-Ouest

Intercommunality

Grenoble Alpes Métropole

Government

• Mayor (2014–2020)

Renzo Sulli

Area¹

8 km² (3 sq mi)

Population (2011)²

35,995

• Density

4,500/km² (12,000/sq mi)

INSEE/Postal code

38151 / 38130

Elevation

217–395 m (712–1,296 ft)
(avg. 237 m or 778 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Échirolles is a commune in the Isère department in southeastern France.

It is the second-largest suburb of the city of Grenoble, and is adjacent to it on the south.

History

Former industrial village, the majority of its inhabitants worked in the viscose factories, a fabric which was invented in Échirolles in 1884 by French scientist and industrial Hilaire de Chardonnet, before becoming universally famous. The process for manufacturing viscose was then patented by three British scientists, Charles Frederick Cross, Edward John Bevan and Clayton Beadle, in 1891.

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1836	735	—
1841	702	−4.5%
1851	639	−9.0%
1861	615	−3.8%
1872	652	+6.0%
1881	619	−5.1%
1891	633	+2.3%
1901	574	−9.3%
1911	572	−0.3%
1921	597	+4.4%
1931	2,765	+363.1%
1946	2,825	+2.2%
1954	3,762	+33.2%
1962	7,111	+89.0%
1968	15,429	+117.0%
1975	33,288	+115.7%
1982	37,360	+12.2%
1990	34,435	−7.8%
1999	32,806	−4.7%
2006	35,687	+8.8%
2011	35,995	+0.9%

Personalities

Thernand Bakouboula footballer
Seynabou Benga handball player
Stephane Biakolo footballer
Vincent Clerc (b. 1981), rugby footballer of Stade Toulousain and of the French national team.
Mélissa Theuriau (b. 1978), journalist.
Calogero (b. 1971), pop/rock singer, composer and song-writer.
Laure Péquegnot (b. 1975), skier.
Gérald Hustache-Mathieu (b. 1968), film director and scenarist.
David di Tommaso (1979–2005), football player.
Sami Bouajila (b. 1966), actor.
Guilbaut Colas (b. 18 June 1983), freestyle skier.
David Lazzaroni (b. 4 February 1985), ski jumper.
Sandrine Aubert (b. 6 October 1982), alpine skier.
Jonathan Tinhan footballer