Hauts-de-Seine /

Hauts-de-Seine (92) (pronounced: [o.də.sɛn]; literally "Seine Heights") is a département in France. It is part of the region of Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris. It is small and densely populated and contains the modern office, theatre and shopping complex known as La Défense. Hauts-de-Seine and two other small départements, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne, form a ring around Paris, known as the Petite Couronne (i.e. "inner ring"). Hauts-de-Seine is made up of three departmental arrondissements and 36 communes: The department of Hauts-de-Seine was created in 1968, from parts of the former départements of Seine and Seine-et-Oise. It's creation reflected the implementation of a law passed in 1964, and Nanterre had already been selected as the prefecture for the new department early in 1965. In the 1990s and early 2000s, the Hauts-de-Seine received national attention as the result of a corruption scandal concerning the misuse of public funds provided for the department's housing projects. Implicated were former minister and former President of the general council of the Hauts-de-Seine, Charles Pasqua, and other personalities of the RPR party. (See