Dugommier: origin of the name and station history
Served by: metro line 6.
Why this name?
Originally named Charenton, after rue de Charenton, which led to the village of Charenton (now Charenton-le-Pont), the station was renamed Dugommier, which avoided confusion with the line 8 extension to Charenton - Écoles, then under construction. The name honours Jacques François Dugommier (1738-1794), a general of the Revolution. It lies under boulevard de Reuilly, on the border of Picpus and Bercy; there was once a connection with the former Reuilly station on the Vincennes line.
Anecdote
Dugommier is the last of five stations on the network whose original name was taken up by a more recent station, along with Saint-Placide, George V, Picpus and Avenue Émile-Zola. Its single entrance, on boulevard de Reuilly, has a yellow « M » in a circle on a mast and a Dervaux-style railing.
Around Dugommier
- Coulée verte René-Dumont, 220 m away — A 4.7-km linear park inaugurated in 1993 on the former railway line from Bastille to Verneuil-l'Étang, closed in 1969. It is presented as the first project in the world to turn old elevated railway lines into an urban garden.
- Bois de Vincennes, 1400 m away — Paris's largest green space, with a lake, zoo and racecourse, a former royal hunting ground.
- Marché Cours de Vincennes, 1050 m away — A lively neighbourhood market, valued by locals for its fresh produce.