Gentilly is a commune in the Val-de-Marne department of Ile-de-France, France, in the southern suburbs of Paris. Gentilly's Latin name Gentiliacum either refers to the Gallo-Roman landowner Gentilius or to the foreign goldsmiths who settled in the town during the Merovingian period. Gentilly was, in the Middle Ages, home to a royal estate where coinage was minted. In 1860, half of Gentilly was annexed into Paris, forming part of the 13th arrondissement; in 1896, another large portion of Gentilly was annexed to Le Kremlin-Bicetre, leaving Gentilly a quarter of its original size. Located just 2.5 miles from the Paris city center, Gentilly is crossed by the Bievre river, whose course is covered over by the whole of the commune. During the 19th century, Gentilly was industrialized, and three-quarters of its population lived in substandard housing by the time World War II broke out in 1939. Modern social housing was introduced in the 1850s, leading to a densification of housing throughout the town. Gentilly was historically part of the "Red Belt" and was a French Communist Party stronghold for almost the entirety of the 20th century and into the 21st century; however, the Communists fell into third place at the 2019 elections, with the Europe Ecology - The Greens party placing in first and La République En Marche! in second; this was partly due to the gentrification of Gentilly, which changed its electorate. In 2019, Gentilly had a population of 18,815 people.
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