Chatou. Chatou is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Chatou is a part of the affluent suburbs of western Paris and is on the northwest side of the Seine river about 14 km from the city's center. On May 31, 1875, part of the territory of Chatou was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Le Pecq and a part of the territory of Croissy-sur-Seine to create the commune of Le Vésinet. It boasts many bourgeois mansions of every kind of architecture and owned by private individuals. Chatou is also the host of the Maison Fournaise, a meeting place for Impressionist painters in the past. It was a place where Pierre-Auguste Renoir painted numerous pieces, most notably the Déjeuner des canotiers in 1881. The painting is today part of the Phillips Collection in Washington, D.C. On August 25, 1944, in Chatou, the nazis shot 27 people, civilians and members of the French Resistance. This event is today known as the Massacre des 27 Martyrs. Chatou is served by Chatou-Croissy station on Paris RER line A. The community has eight public preschools, five public elementary schools, and two public junior high schools.