Villejuif () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris.
The earliest reference to Villejuif appears in a bill signed by the Pope Callixtus II on 27 November 1119. It refers to Villa Judea, the Latinized version of an Old French term meaning 'Jewish settlement'. During the following centuries, the toponym appears as Villejuifve, that is, following the archaic French spelling of the expression with the same meaning, cognate to modern French Villejuive. The 17th-century French author Louis Moréri suggested that the settlement was founded by Jews expelled from Paris. This idea, however, remains speculative as no surviving medieval Christian or Jewish sources mention the existence of a Jewish community here. An alternative explanation is that the name is a corruption of some earlier, similar-sounding name. Another suggestion made by historan Cecil Roth in 1951 is that names such as this simply reflect "an ancient building of unknown origin".
The Hôtel de Ville, which was established as a seminary, dates back to 1608.
Villejuif has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Villejuif is . The average annual rainfall is with October as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in December, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Villejuif was on 6 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 8 February 1991.
Villejuif is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 7: Villejuif â Léo Lagrange, Villejuif â Paul Vaillant-Couturier, and Villejuif â Louis Aragon. Villejuif is also served by one station on Paris Métro Line 14: VillejuifâÂÂGustave Roussy station.
Villejuif has several hospitals on its territory :
13 preschools, 11 elementary schools, and five junior high schools (Collège Aimé-Césaire, Collège Guy-Môquet, Collège Jean Lurçat, Collège Karl Marx, Collège Pasteur) are in Villejuif. Lycée intercommunal Darius-Milhaud (in Le Kremlin-Bicêtre) serves Villejuif.
Other institutions:
Villejuif is twinned with: