town, eastern suburb of Paris, in Seine-et-Marne département, Paris région, north-central France, near the Marne River. It is the site of ancient Calae and has ruins of the 7th-century Abbey of Notre-Dame-de-Chelles (founded by Bathilde, widow of Clovis II, and destroyed during the French Revolution). Prehistoric remains found nearby in the 19th century were designated Chellean and gave rise to the archaeological classification Chellean/Acheulian. The town has food-processing industries. Pop. (1999) 45,399; (2005 est.) 48,100.