Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis

Montreuil (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃tʁœj] ), sometimes unofficially referred to as Montreuil-sous-Bois (pronounced [mɔ̃tʁœj su bwa]), is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.6 km (4.1 mi) from the centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and in the Métropole du Grand Paris. With a population of 111,367 as of 2020, Montreuil is the third most populous suburb of Paris after Boulogne-Billancourt and Saint-Denis. It is located north of Paris's Bois de Vincennes (in the 12th arrondissement), on the border with Val-de-Marne.

Montreuil
Montreuil Town Hall
Montreuil Town Hall
Coat of arms of Montreuil
Paris and inner ring departments
Paris and inner ring departments
Location of Montreuil
Map
Montreuil is located in France
Montreuil
Montreuil
Montreuil is located in Île-de-France (region)
Montreuil
Montreuil
Coordinates: 48°51′40″N 2°26′37″E / 48.8611°N 2.4436°E / 48.8611; 2.4436
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentSeine-Saint-Denis
ArrondissementBobigny
CantonMontreuil-1 and 2
IntercommunalityGrand Paris
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Patrice Bessac[1] (PCF)
Area
1
8.92 km2 (3.44 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
111,455
 • Density12,000/km2 (32,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
93048 /93100
Elevation52–117 m (171–384 ft)
(avg. 70 m or 230 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Name edit

The name Montreuil was recorded for the first time in a royal edict of 722 as Monasteriolum, meaning "little monastery" in Medieval Latin. The settlement of Montreuil started as a group of houses built around a small monastery.

History edit

Under the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI the "Peach Walls" which provided the royal court with the fruits were located in Montreuil. It was also later home to the Lumière brothers and George Méliès whose workshops were located in lower Montreuil.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, the commune of Charonne was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Montreuil, and Bagnolet. Montreuil received a small part of the territory of Charonne.

Today Montreuil is divided into several districts:

Main artistic heritage edit

  • Decorations (ceramics and frescoes) in the state school "Voltaire" by Maurice Boitel (1954).
  • Many definitive street art murals on several buildings of the city, like the tribute to Frantz Fanon, French psychiatrist and philosopher from the French overseas department of Martinique (boulevard Théophile Sueur).
  • "Au temps d'harmonie", pointillist painting from famous 19th century French painter Paul Signac, in the town hall.[3]
  • Polyptych (enamels), in the cathedral entrance of the Georges Méliès student residence by Guillaume Bottazzi.[4][5]

Heraldry edit

 
Arms of Montreuil
The herald arms of Montreuil is coloured as follows :

Azur-coloured base, one gold-coloured chevron between three golden peach branches , and in center top a golden Fleur-de-lis .
or
Azure, a Chevron Or between three Peach branches Or fructed and in centre chief point a Fleur-de-lis Or.



Geography edit

Climate edit

Montreuil has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Montreuil is 12.0 °C (53.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 669.9 mm (26.37 in) with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 20.2 °C (68.4 °F), and lowest in January, at around 4.6 °C (40.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Montreuil was 40.0 °C (104.0 °F) on 25 July 2019 and 12 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −17.7 °C (0.1 °F) on 17 January 1985.

Climate data for Montreuil (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1981−present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 16.0
(60.8)
21.0
(69.8)
25.5
(77.9)
30.5
(86.9)
33.0
(91.4)
37.5
(99.5)
40.0
(104.0)
40.0
(104.0)
35.0
(95.0)
30.0
(86.0)
22.5
(72.5)
17.0
(62.6)
40.0
(104.0)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 7.1
(44.8)
8.1
(46.6)
12.0
(53.6)
15.2
(59.4)
19.3
(66.7)
22.4
(72.3)
25.0
(77.0)
24.7
(76.5)
20.9
(69.6)
16.2
(61.2)
10.6
(51.1)
7.4
(45.3)
15.8
(60.4)
Daily mean °C (°F) 4.6
(40.3)
5.1
(41.2)
8.3
(46.9)
10.9
(51.6)
14.8
(58.6)
17.8
(64.0)
20.2
(68.4)
19.9
(67.8)
16.5
(61.7)
12.6
(54.7)
7.9
(46.2)
5.1
(41.2)
12.0
(53.6)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0)
2.1
(35.8)
4.6
(40.3)
6.6
(43.9)
10.3
(50.5)
13.2
(55.8)
15.4
(59.7)
15.0
(59.0)
12.1
(53.8)
9.0
(48.2)
5.2
(41.4)
2.9
(37.2)
8.3
(46.9)
Record low °C (°F) −17.7
(0.1)
−12.5
(9.5)
−8.5
(16.7)
−2.7
(27.1)
1.0
(33.8)
4.8
(40.6)
8.0
(46.4)
7.0
(44.6)
4.0
(39.2)
−2.0
(28.4)
−7.5
(18.5)
−9.2
(15.4)
−17.7
(0.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 53.3
(2.10)
44.3
(1.74)
51.1
(2.01)
52.3
(2.06)
65.6
(2.58)
56.9
(2.24)
57.8
(2.28)
52.9
(2.08)
52.1
(2.05)
63.1
(2.48)
56.7
(2.23)
63.8
(2.51)
669.9
(26.37)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10.8 10.3 10.8 9.6 10.3 8.7 8.1 8.0 8.1 9.9 11.0 11.8 117.5
Source: Météo-France[6]

Demographics edit

Population edit

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 3,763—    
1800 3,879+0.43%
1806 3,950+0.30%
1821 3,006−1.80%
1831 3,314+0.98%
1836 3,546+1.36%
1841 3,718+0.95%
1846 3,620−0.53%
1851 3,810+1.03%
1856 4,311+2.50%
1861 6,871+9.77%
1866 9,235+6.09%
1872 12,295+4.89%
1876 13,607+2.57%
1881 18,693+6.56%
1886 21,541+2.88%
1891 23,986+2.17%
1896 27,087+2.46%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 31,773+3.24%
1906 35,904+2.47%
1911 43,217+3.78%
1921 51,026+1.67%
1926 58,521+2.78%
1931 70,450+3.78%
1936 71,803+0.38%
1946 69,838−0.28%
1954 76,252+1.10%
1962 92,207+2.40%
1968 95,698+0.62%
1975 96,587+0.13%
1982 93,368−0.48%
1990 94,754+0.18%
1999 90,674−0.49%
2007 102,097+1.49%
2012 103,520+0.28%
2017 109,897+1.20%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968-2017)[8]

Immigration edit

Place of birth of residents of Montreuil in 1999
Born in metropolitan France Born outside metropolitan France
73.1% 26.9%
Born in
overseas France
Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth1 EU-15 immigrants2 Non-EU-15 immigrants
2.3% 2.8% 4.8% 17.0%
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as Pieds-Noirs in Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.

2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.

Montreuil's inhabitants often exaggeratedly nickname the town the "second Malian town after Bamako", or sometimes "Mali-sous-Bois"[9] or "Bamako-sur-Seine" even if the Seine doesn't cross the town. Montreuil has indeed a very important Malian population : more than 2,000 inhabitants according to the INSEE in 1999, between 6,000 and 10,000 people according to the mairie,[10] which estimates that Montreuil has the largest Malian community in France.[9] 10% of the population is Malian or has Malian origins.[11]

Administration edit

The mayor of Montreuil is the member of Parti communiste français Patrice Bessac, who was elected on the second round of 2014 municipal elections, defeating the former ex-Communist mayor Jean-Pierre Brard in a four-way second round. He was re-elected in the first round of the 2020 elections with 51.34% votes, though with 33.67% participation (down from 53.11% in the 2014 election) due to the COVID-19 crisis (which also caused a delay of the 2nd turn in other cities).

 
Streets in Montreuil

The city is divided into two cantons: canton of Montreuil-1 and canton of Montreuil-2.

Economy edit

 
Ubisoft administrative head office in Montreuil

Video game company Ubisoft has its corporate head office in Montreuil.[12] The Air France Paris office (of Air France-KLM) is in Montreuil.[13][14][15]

Education edit

The commune's educational services are operated out of the Opale B Administrative Building.[16] Montreuil has eight collèges, three lycées, two lycées techniques, and the IUT of the University of Paris 8.[17]

Senior high schools/sixth form colleges:[18]

The Montreuil Library (Bibliothèque de Montreuil) consists of the Robert-Desnos Central Library, the Daniel-Renoult Library, the Colonel-Fabien Library, and the Paul-Eluard Library.[19] Robert-Desnos, in a park near the commune's town hall, is the largest library in the commune. It houses a music library and Internet access points.[20] Daniel-Renoult, near Montreau Park, serves the Montreau-Ruffins Théophile Sueur community.[21] Colonel-Fabien, in the Ramenas-Fabien-Léo Lagrange community, is near the Intercommunal Hospital.[22] Paul-Eluard is near the La Grande Porte shopping centre and is within 50 metres (160 ft) of the Robespierre Paris Métro station and Rue de Paris.[23]

Notable residents and personalities edit

Transport edit

Montreuil is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9: Robespierre, Croix de Chavaux, and Mairie de Montreuil.

There are several new Métro (Line 11 - Montreuil-Hôpital[24]) and tramway (extension of the T1 tramway[25]) stations under construction. The region is also working on the extension of the Métro Line 1 to Val-de-Fontenay, with a possible new station in the East of Montreuil (Grands Pêchers).[26]

International relations edit

Montreuil is twinned with Cottbus, Brandenburg, Germany[27] and a few other towns and cities of Africa, Asia and Europe.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 6 June 2023.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ "Visions du bonheur | Histoire et analyse d'images et oeuvres".
  4. ^ "A polyptych by Guillaume Bottazzi illuminates the cathedral entrance of the Georges Méliès student residence in Montreuil".
  5. ^ "Le polyptyque de Guillaume Bottazzi illumine la nouvelle résidence étudiante Georges Méliès à Montreuil – in interiors".
  6. ^ "Fiche Climatologique Statistiques 1991-2020 et records" (PDF). Météo-France. Retrieved August 23, 2022.
  7. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Montreuil, EHESS (in French).
  8. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  9. ^ a b Bordier, Julien (2005-10-06). "Mali-sous-Bois". L'Express (in French). Retrieved 2013-11-01.
  10. ^ (in French) Le cercle de Yelimané sur le site de la mairie de Montreuil Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine
  11. ^ (in French) c dans l'air émission du 04/04/2012 http://www.france5.fr/c-dans-l-air/international/aqmi-main-basse-sur-le-mali-35834
  12. ^ "World Presence France." Ubisoft. Retrieved on 20 August 2011. "Worldwide Headquarters 28 rue Armand Carrel 93 108 Montreuil Cedex "
  13. ^ "Contact Us Archived 2010-04-10 at the Wayback Machine." Air France-KLM ONE. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  14. ^ "AIR FRANCE office, Paris Archived 2011-07-07 at the Wayback Machine." Air France-KLM. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  15. ^ "Montreuil et 6 secteurs Archived 2012-05-16 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  16. ^ "Inscrire son enfant à l'école Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  17. ^ "Jeunesse (12-25 ans) > Enseignement Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  18. ^ "Les jeunes (12-25 ans) > L'enseignement Archived 2016-09-14 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil. Retrieved on September 2, 2016.
  19. ^ "Réseau Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil Library. Retrieved on 18 June 2010.
  20. ^ "Robert-Desnos Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil Library. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "Située dans le parc près de la mairie, la bibliothèque centrale Robert Desnos est la plus grande de la ville. Elle abrite également une discothèque, et des postes d'accès à Internet."
  21. ^ "Daniel-Renoult Archived 2009-06-28 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil Library. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "Tout près du Parc Montreau, la bibliothèque Daniel-Renoult irrigue le quartier Montreau Ruffins Théophile Sueur."
  22. ^ "Colonel-Fabien Archived 2011-07-20 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil Library. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "Au coeur du quartier Ramenas-Fabien- Léo Lagrange, près du Centre Hospitalier Intercommunal,"
  23. ^ "Paul-Eluard Archived 2010-06-03 at the Wayback Machine." Montreuil Library. Retrieved on 18 June 2010. "A deux pas du centre commercial La Grande Porte, à 50 m du métro Robespierre et de la rue de Paris."
  24. ^ "Le prolongement | Prolongement Ligne 11 Est".
  25. ^ "Home". t1bobigny-valdefontenay.fr.
  26. ^ "Projet Métro ligne 1 Prolongement Château de Vincennes > Val de Fontenay". 10 March 2022.
  27. ^ "Our twin cities- Cottbus". http://www.cottbus.de/. Retrieved 2013-06-24. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

External links edit