Épinal (; ) is a commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, south of Nancy. Épinal station has rail connections to Paris, Remiremont, Strasbourg, Belfort and Nancy. Population In 2018, 32,223 people lived in the town proper, while its functional area had a population of 119,955. Main sights The old town centre features the Place des Vosges, the Chapitre district, Saint-Maurice's Basilica, medieval castle remains and the Roman House (11th and 13th centuries). It is also known for its parks and gardens, as well as a large communal forest with arboretum (the Arboretum de la Forêt d'Épinal). There are major fortifications, extended and maintained until the early 20th century. There is a legend, among the populace of Épinal, that Napoleon's ghost strolls the wall ramparts on 9 September of each year at 05:00. It was on this day and at this time that, in 1811, Napoleon gave his first and last oration to the city of Épinal, wherein he addressed the challenges posed by northern expansion. The Epinal American Cemetery and Memorial on the outskirts of the town where United States service members killed in World War II are buried. Notable residents Isabelle Cogitore (born 1964), historian Jean-Baptiste Jacopin (1755–1811), general of the armies of the 1st Republic and the First French Empire. Victor Magnien (1802–1885), violinist, guitarist and composer Émile Durkheim (1858–1917), founder of sociology Louis Lapicque (1866–1952), physiologist, specialist of the nervous system and known for his discovery of the chronaxie. Marcel Mauss (1872–1950), father of French modern ethnography and nephew of Émile Durkheim. Marc Boegner (1881–1970), writer, thinker and pastor, president of the Fédération protestante de France and the World Council of Churches, a member of the Académie française. Henry Daniel-Rops (1901–1965), writer and historian Jean-Marie Cavada (1940) journalist and politician. Léo Valentin (1919–1956), French soldier and adventurer, nicknamed "l'homme-oiseau". Marceline Loridan-Ivens (1928), film director Philippe Séguin (1943–2010), Mayor of Épinal, French politician, President of the Court of Auditors under the Fifth Republic. Ségolène Royal (1953), completed her high school in Charmes, before joining the Lycée Saint-Joseph of Épinal in 1968. Laetitia Masson (1966), screenwriter and film director Valérie Donzelli (1973), actress and film director Jeanne Cressanges, novelist, essayist Nicolas Matthieu (1978), writer, winner of the Prix Erckmann-Chatrian in 2014. Maria Pourchet, (1980), writer, winner of the