VAL-DE-MARNE

dpartement, le-de-France rgion, northern France. It borders the southeastern limits of Paris and was created in 1964 as part of the administrative reorganization of Greater Paris. Val-de-Marne comprises the southeast portion of the former Seine dpartement and a few communes of the former Seine-et-Oise dpartement, which themselves were originally created in 1790 out of the old province of le-de-France. The northeast embraces the residential urban centres in and around the great S bend of the Marne River and the area of its confluence with the Seine River, which bisects the dpartement from south to north. The Marne, which is popular for boating, is also an important commercial waterway. Both banks of the Seine are heavily industrialized. Market (truck) gardens scattered among the built-up areas produce quantities of vegetables. The southeast part of the dpartement consists of woods and agricultural land. A large part of Orly Airport is in Val-de-Marne, though its terminal is in the neighbouring Essonne dpartement. Adjoining the airport at Rungis is the Paris central produce market, which was moved there in 1969 from Les Halles in the centre of the city. The produce market and the airport are served by a branch of the Autoroute du Soleil, a major French motorway, which crosses the dpartement north-south. The northern part of Val-de-Marne includes Vincennes, and the southeastern embraces the late 16th-century chteau and park of Gros Bois. The dpartement has three arrondissements: Crteil, the capital, which occupies a central position, L'Ha-les-Roses, and Nogent-sur-Marne. Area 95 square miles (245 square km). Pop. (1990) 1,215,398; (1994 est.) 1,233,964.