Samois-sur-Seine (French pronunciation: [samwa syʁ sɛn] , lit.'Samois on Seine') is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

Samois-sur-Seine
The River Seine in Samois-sur-Seine
The River Seine in Samois-sur-Seine
Coat of arms of Samois-sur-Seine
Location of Samois-sur-Seine
Map
Samois-sur-Seine is located in France
Samois-sur-Seine
Samois-sur-Seine
Samois-sur-Seine is located in Île-de-France (region)
Samois-sur-Seine
Samois-sur-Seine
Coordinates: 48°27′10″N 2°45′02″E / 48.4528°N 2.7506°E / 48.4528; 2.7506
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentSeine-et-Marne
ArrondissementFontainebleau
CantonFontainebleau
IntercommunalityCA Pays de Fontainebleau
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Michel Chariau[1]
Area
1
6.33 km2 (2.44 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
2,010
 • Density320/km2 (820/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
77441 /77920
Elevation41–115 m (135–377 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is located near Fontainebleau.

Culture

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It is famous for being the town to which Django Reinhardt retired, and hosts an annual jazz festival in his honor. It was also the home to Reverchon Industries, a major global bumper car and other amusement ride producer. It is the birthplace of French jazz singer Cyrille Aimée.[3] It has a lively community, with a primary school, a weekly market, a baker, a butcher, two cafés/bars, several restaurants and hotels. A bus also provides a link to the nearby town of Fontainebleau/Avon, the route of the world's first commercial trolleybus 1901–1913.

 
Île du Berceau, where the Django Reinhardt festival takes place

Demographics

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Inhabitants of Samois-sur-Seine are called Samoisiens in French.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 1,373—    
1975 1,574+1.97%
1982 1,574+0.00%
1990 1,916+2.49%
1999 2,236+1.73%
2007 2,062−1.01%
2012 2,098+0.35%
2017 2,053−0.43%
Source: Cassini[4] and INSEE[5]

Literary reference and namesake

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The town is mentioned in the 1954 novel Story of O as the location of the fictional mansion managed by Anne-Marie, a lesbian dominatrix. In 1978, the name Samois was adopted by a lesbian-feminist BDSM organization based in San Francisco that existed from 1978 to 1983. It was the first lesbian BDSM group in the United States.[6]

See also

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  • Communes of the Seine-et-Marne department
  • Maud Gonne – The cemetery of Samois-sur-Seine is where in 1893 the English-born Irish republican revolutionary, suffragette, and actress Maud Gonne conceived Iseult Gonne in a sex magick ritual to reincarnate the soul of her dead son, in the crypt of the child's mausoleum, next to the coffin.

References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Reich, Ronni (The Star Ledger) (21 October 2012). "Cyrille Aimee wins the first Sarah Vaughan International Jazz Competition". nj.com True Jersey. Retrieved 22 February 2015. ...instantly recognizable sound: a soft, girlish buzz with a touch of an Edith Piaf-like quaver....Aimée honed her skills growing up in the village of Samois-sur-Seine, ... In 2007, she was named winner of the first and public prizes at the Montreux Jazz Festival Competition. ... rhythmically driven style...
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Samois-sur-Seine, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ "Population en historique depuis 1968" (in French). INSEE. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  6. ^ Jeffreys, Sheila (1993). The Lesbian Heresy. North Melbourne, Vic., Australia: Spinifex. p. 130. ISBN 1-875559-17-5.
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