Thiais

Thiais
The church Saint-Leu
Coat of arms
Paris and inner ring departments
Coordinates: 48°45′54″N 2°23′32″E / 48.765°N 2.3923°ECoordinates: 48°45′54″N 2°23′32″E / 48.765°N 2.3923°E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Val-de-Marne
Arrondissement	L'Haÿ-les-Roses
Area^1	6.43 km^2 (2.48 sq mi)
Population (2006)^2	29,709
• Density	4,600/km^2 (12,000/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	94073 /
^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.

Thiais is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 10.3 km (6.4 mi) from the center of Paris.^[1]

The name Thiais comes from Medieval Latin Theodasium or Theodaxium, meaning "estate of Theodasius", a Gallo-Roman landowner.

The Austrian writer Joseph Roth, exiled due to his opposition to the Nazi regime, lived at Thiais at the end of the 1930s and is buried at the local cemetery. The tomb of Russian writer Yevgeny Zamyatin is also there. Expatriate American journalist and novelist William Gardner Smith died there in 1974.^[2]

Transport

Thiais is served by Pont de Rungis – Aéroport d'Orly station on Paris RER line C. It is also served by Choisy-le-Roi station on Paris RER line C. This station, although administratively located on the territory of Choisy-le-Roi, lies closer to the town center of Thiais than Pont de Rungis – Aéroport d'Orly station does, and is thus used by people in Thiais.

Monuments

• Paul Celan's grave.
• Farhad Mehrad's grave. Farhad was cremated and is buried in the Thiais.
• Yevgeny Zamyatin's grave.

See also

• Communes of the Val-de-Marne department

References

• INSEE
• Mayors of Essonne Association (French)

1. Official website (French) (requires Flash)
2. Jackson, Jacquelyn. "William Gardner Smith" from Dictionary of Literary Biography. Thomson Gale, Thomson Corporation ©2005-2006.