48° 56′ 59″ N 03° 07′ 49″ E. One hour from Paris near Île-de-France, next to slopes of Champagne région, in the confluences of the Marl and Petite Morin, the inhabitants are called Fertois. The 1999 population was 8,584. [January 2008]
Ancienne Synagogue, 28 boulevard de Turenne 77260 La Ferté-sous-Jouarre, Open to the Public on Saturday and Sunday in the afternoon. Groups: Association des Amis d'André Planson, Mairie: 01 60 22 25 63. This community, fast-growing in the 19th century, was torn apart by occupation and deportation, and thus disappeared from local awareness. [January 2008]
Cimetière israélite: rue de Chamigny. The only traces today of the life of the Jewish community at La-Ferté-sous-Jouarre (east of Paris) are a synagogue and a small but abandoned cemetery. Like a secret garden, the cemetery remained closed and untouched for decades, until a few years ago an initiative from the village began to clear away the underbrush. Two experts from the Jewish Museum of Belgium want to restore gravestones and to work on long-term protection of the cemetery from the elements. Special attention will be paid to the care of the inscriptions on the gravestones. See www.museejuif.be and www.la-ferte-sous-jouarre.fr [January 2008]