MAP. Grigny, Faux, Rousset… why eight French towns officially changed their names on January 1, 2025 ?

Since 1943, 1,387 municipalities have chosen to change their name to avoid being confused with other municipalities with the same name. Discover the eight new municipalities that have changed their name on January 1, 2025.

At the start of 2025, eight French municipalities have officially changed their name, according to the Journal officiel quoted by Ouest-France.  Although most of these decisions were made in 2023 during municipal council meetings, they only came into effect on Wednesday, January 1st.

Avoiding homonyms

These changes are mainly intended to differentiate between municipalities that share the same name. For example, Grigny, located in the Rhône, is now called Grigny-sur-Rhône to avoid confusion with a city of the same name in Essonne.

Other municipalities have chosen to return to historical spellings. This is the case of Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison (Haute-Loire), which adopts the old spelling Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaizon, replacing the “s” with a “z”.

200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000

The complete list

Faux becomes Faux-en-Périgord (Dordogne). Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaison becomes Saint-Christophe-sur-Dolaizon (Haute-Loire). Roche becomes Roche-en-Forez (Loire). Grigny becomes Grigny-sur-Rhône (Rhône). Rousset becomes Rousset-Serre-Ponçon (Hautes-Alpes). La Cheix becomes La Cheix-sur-Morge (Puy-de-Dôme). Le Vigan becomes Le Vigan-en-Quercy (Lot). Montcourt-Fromonville corrects a typo and becomes Moncourt-Fromonville (Seine-et-Marne).

Since 1943, 1,387 municipalities have changed their names for reasons of identity or clarity.

January 1 saw the creation of 24 new communes in France, resulting from mergers between municipalities, aimed at pooling their financial, material and human resources. For example, the merger between Pierrefitte-sur-Seine and Saint-Denis made the latter the second largest city in the region.