Montreuil (), sometimes unofficially referred to as Montreuil-sous-Bois (), is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the eastern suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is located from the centre of Paris in

Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...

. With a population of 109,914 as of 2018, Montreuil is the fourth most populous suburb of Paris after

Boulogne-Billancourt Boulogne-Billancourt (; often colloquially called simply Boulogne, until 1924 Boulogne-sur-Seine, ) is a wealthy and prestigious Communes of France, commune in the Parisian area, located from its Kilometre zero, centre. It is a Subprefectures in ...

, Saint-Denis and

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...

. It is located north of Paris's

Bois de Vincennes The Bois de Vincennes (), located on the eastern edge of Paris, is the largest public park in the city. It was created between 1855 and 1866 by Emperor Napoleon III. The park is next to the Château de Vincennes, a former residence of the King ...

(in the 12th arrondissement), on the border with

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a pop ...

Name

The name Montreuil was recorded for the first time in a royal edict of 722 as ''Monasteriolum'', meaning "little

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

" in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

. The settlement of Montreuil started as a group of houses built around a small monastery.

History

Under the reigns of

Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

and

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

the "Peach Walls" which provided the royal court with the fruits were located in Montreuil. It was also later home to the

Lumière brothers Lumière is French for 'light'. Lumiere, Lumière or Lumieres may refer to: * Lumières, the philosophical movement in the Age of Enlightenment People *Auguste and Louis Lumière, French pioneers in film-making Film and TV * Institut Lumière, ...

and

George Méliès George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presiden ...

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 The Charonne quarter is an area of the 20th arrondissement of Paris named after a former municipality in the area, which was merged into the city of Paris in 1860 by Napoleon III and split between Charonne quarter (south part), the Père-Lachais ...

was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Montreuil, and

Bagnolet Bagnolet () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. History On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, a small part of the commune o ...

. Montreuil received a small part of the territory of Charonne. Today Montreuil is divided into several districts: * Le bas Montreuil (which joins together the old workshops (bordering on

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé () is a high-end Communes of France, commune of the Val-de-Marne Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. It is one of the sm ...

), the ''

marché aux puces A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...

'' (bordering on Paris, carries of Montreuil), *The Mairie (town hall) (the malls, la croix de Chavaux, the ''mairie'', and the Church of St Peter and St Paul), * La Noue (parc des Guilands, city of du Val, Robespierre, bordering on

), * Le Bel Air (

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and resistant who served as the first President of the National Council of the Resistance during World War II from 27 May 1943 until his death less than two months l ...

housing estate, park des Beaumonts, city of Bel Air, city of Grand Pechers), * La Boissière (all the north of Montreuil including parc Montreau and parc des Beaumonts, bordering on

Romainville Romainville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department and in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. Location It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. History On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory ...

Noisy-le-Sec Noisy-le-Sec () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Population Heraldry Transport Noisy-le-Sec is served by Noisy-le-Sec station on Paris RER line E. Education Schools:< ...

Rosny-sous-Bois Rosny-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is the seat of the national centre of road information of the national gendarmerie. Population Heraldry Transport Rosny ...

and

Fontenay-sous-Bois Fontenay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Name The name Fontenay was recorded in the Middle Ages as ''Fontanetum'', meaning "the springs", from Medieval Latin ''fonta ...

Main artistic heritage

* Decorations (ceramics and frescoes) in the state school "

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''Pen name, nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his ...

" by

Maurice Boitel Maurice Boitel (July 31, 1919 – August 11, 2007) was a French painter. Artistic life Boitel belonged to the art movement called "La Jeune Peinture" ("Young Picture") of the School of Paris,The School of Paris (1945–1965) by Lydia Harambourg. ...

(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. * Polyptych (enamels), in the cathedral entrance of the

Georges Méliès Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès (; ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French illusionist, actor, and film director. He led many technical and narrative developments in the earliest days of cinema. Méliès was well known for the use of ...

student residence by

Guillaume Bottazzi Guillaume Bottazzi (born in 1971) is a French visual artist. Biography Guillaume Bottazzi is a French visual artist, born in 1971. At the age of 17, he decided to become an artist as a single activity. He began to study painting in Italy. Bac ...

Heraldry

Geography

Climate

Montreuil has a

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Montreuil is . The average annual rainfall is with May as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Montreuil was on 25 July 2019 and 12 August 2003; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 17 January 1985.

Demographics

Population

Immigration

Montreuil's inhabitants often exaggeratedly nickname the town the "second Malian town after

Bamako Bamako ( bm, ߓߡߊ߬ߞߐ߬ ''Bàmakɔ̌'', ff, 𞤄𞤢𞤥𞤢𞤳𞤮 ''Bamako'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Mali, with a 2009 population of 1,810,366 and an estimated 2022 population of 2.81 million. It is located on t ...

", or sometimes "Mali-sous-Bois" or "Bamako-sur-Seine" even if the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

doesn't cross the town. Montreuil has indeed a very important Malian population : more than inhabitants according to the INSEE in 1999, between and people according to the ''mairie'', which estimates that Montreuil has the largest Malian community in France. 10% of the population is Malian or has Malian origins.

Administration

The mayor of Montreuil is the member of

Parti communiste français The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

Patrice Bessac, who was elected on the second round of 2014 municipal elections, defeating the former ex-Communist mayor

Jean-Pierre Brard Jean-Pierre Brard, (born 7 February 1948), is a French politician. Initially a teacher, he entered politics and was elected was deputy mayor of Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, a post he held until 1984 when he was elected mayor of the same city. ...

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 The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

(which also caused a delay of the 2nd turn in other cities). Montreuil streets

The city is divided into two cantons:

canton of Montreuil-1 The canton of Montreuil-1 is an administrative division of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France region, northern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Montreuil. ...

and canton of Montreuil-2.

Economy

Video game company

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Assassin's Creed'', ''Far Cry'', '' ...

has its corporate head office in Montreuil. The

Air France Air France (; formally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. It is a subsidiary of the Air France–KLM Group and a founding member of the SkyTeam global air ...

Paris office (of

Air France-KLM The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing for ...

) is in Montreuil.

Education

The commune's educational services are operated out of the Opale B Administrative Building. Montreuil has eight ''collèges'', three ''lycées'', two ''lycées techniques'', and the IUT of the

University of Paris 8 Paris 8 University Vincennes-Saint-Denis (french: Université Paris 8 Vincennes-Saint-Denis) is a public university in Paris, France. Once part of the historic University of Paris, it is now an autonomous public institution. It is one of the th ...

. Senior high schools/sixth form colleges:Les jeunes (12-25 ans) > L'enseignement
." Montreuil. Retrieved on September 2, 2016. * Lycée Eugénie-Cotton * Lycée Jean Jaurès *

Lycée Condorcet The Lycée Condorcet () is a school founded in 1803 in Paris, France, located at 8, rue du Havre, in the city's 9th arrondissement. It is one of the four oldest high schools in Paris and also one of the most prestigious. Since its inception, var ...

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. 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. Daniel-Renoult, near Montreau Park, serves the Montreau-Ruffins Théophile Sueur community. Colonel-Fabien, in the Ramenas-Fabien-Léo Lagrange community, is near the Intercommunal Hospital. Paul-Eluard is near the La Grande Porte shopping centre and is within of the

Robespierre Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre (; 6 May 1758 – 28 July 1794) was a French lawyer and statesman who became one of the best-known, influential and controversial figures of the French Revolution. As a member of the Esta ...

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the Paris, city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform ar ...

station and Rue de Paris.

Notable residents and personalities

Pierre de Montreuil Pierre de Montreuil (died 17 March 1267) was a French architect. The name formerly given to him by architectural historians, Peter of Montereau (in French, Pierre de Montereau), is a misnomer. It was based on his tombstone inscription ''Musterolo ...

, famous 13th century

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

, died in 1267 in Paris *

Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer Gaston-Auguste Schweitzer (born in Montreuil-sous-Bois on 1 September 1879; died in Paris in 1962) was a French sculptor. Brief biography His father was from Alsace. He studied at the Paris École des Beaux-Arts under Alexandre Falguière, Ant ...

, sculptor *

Djamel Abdoun Djamel Abdoun (born 14 February 1986) is an Algerian retired professional footballer who played as a winger. In the summer of 2011, Abdoun signed a three-year contract with Olympiacos, on a free transfer from Kavala, due to their relegation to ...

, Algerian footballer who played at the

2010 FIFA World Cup , image = 2010 FIFA World Cup.svg , size = 200px , caption = ''Ke Nako. (Tswana and Sotho for "It's time") Celebrate Africa's Humanity'It's time. Celebrate Africa's Humanity'' (English)''Dis tyd. Vier Afrika se mensd ...

* Mehdi Abeid, Algerian footballer *

Oumar Bakari Oumar Bakari (born 30 April 1980) is a retired French footballer defender. He signed for Charleroi following his contract expiration with Stade Malherbe Caen in November 2006, becoming the sixth player of African descent to sign for the Belg ...

, footballer *

Rosette Bir Rosette Bir (1926-1992) was a French sculptor. She lived in Montreuil, a suburb of Paris, France. Born in 1926, she started her work at 42, when she finished raising her children in a wealthy family. She learned from the artist Albert Féra ...

, sculptor * Sacha Boey, footballer *

Jacques Brel Jacques Romain Georges Brel (, ; 8 April 1929 – 9 October 1978) was a Belgian singer and actor who composed and performed literate, thoughtful, and theatrical songs that generated a large, devoted following—initially in Belgium and France, l ...

, singer/songwriter/actor * Souarata Cisse, basketball player * Yehvann Diouf, Senegalese Footballer *

Olivier Dacourt Olivier Yohan Dacourt (born 25 September 1974) is a French former professional footballer who played as a midfielder. He is also a former French international and is best known for his spells at English side Leeds United and Italian clubs Roma a ...

, footballer * Emmanuel Flipo, artist * Pape Gueye, footballer * Sikou Niakate, footballer * Elisha Owusu, footballer * Mamadou Samassa, footballer *

Tignous Bernard Jean-Charles Verlhac (21 August 1957 – 7 January 2015), known by the pseudonym Tignous (, from oc, Tinhós), was a French cartoonist. He was a long-time staff cartoonist for the French satirical magazine '' Charlie Hebdo''. On 7 Jan ...

, cartoonist and activist killed in the

Charlie Hebdo shooting On 7 January 2015, at about 11:30 a.m. CET local time, two French Muslim terrorists and brothers, Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper '' Charlie Hebdo'' in Paris. Armed with ...

Élodie Bouchez Élodie Bouchez-Bangalter (born 5 April 1973) is a French actress. She became internationally known for her role as Renée Rienne on the fifth and final season of the television show ''Alias'' and for playing Maïté Alvarez in the film ''Wild ...

, actress *

Henri Decaë Henri Decaë (31 July 1915 – 7 March 1987) gained fame as a cinematographer entering the film industry as a sound engineer and sound editor. He was a photojournalist in the French army during World War II. After the war he began making document ...

, cinematographer * Nicolas Aithadi, Visual Effects, Guardians of the Galaxy *

Jean Delannoy Jean Delannoy (12 January 1908 – 18 June 2008) was a French actor, film editor, screenwriter and film director. Biography Although Delannoy was born in a Paris suburb, his family was from Haute-Normandie in the north of France. He was a P ...

, director *

Émile Reynaud Charles-Émile Reynaud (8 December 1844 – 9 January 1918) was a French inventor, responsible for the praxinoscope (an animation device patented in 1877 that improved on the zoetrope) and was responsible for the first projected animated fi ...

, director * Abel Thermeus, footballer * Frédéric Verger, writer * Christophe Guilluy, geographer * Helno (Noël Rota) (1963-1993), singer with

Lucrate Milk Lucrate Milk (short for Lucrative Milk) were a French art punk and No Wave band from Paris, France. The band lasted from 1979 to 1983. The group has retained a certain aura to this day in France's punk circles due to their complete lack of compr ...

Bérurier Noir Bérurier noir is a French punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk ro ...

Les Négresses Vertes Les Négresses Vertes, which formed in 1987, is a French music group that combines world music and some aspects of alternative rock. Tracks often feature acoustic guitar and accordion, with some containing other traditional instruments such ...

Adèle Haenel Adèle Haenel (; born 11 February 1989) is a French actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including two César Awards from seven nominations and one Lumières Award from two nominations. Haenel began her career as a child actres ...

, actress * Ethan Mbappè,French footballer

Transport

Montreuil is served by three stations on

Paris Métro Line 9 Paris Métro Line 9 is one of 16 lines of the Paris Métro. The line links Pont de Sèvres in Boulogne in the west with Mairie de Montreuil in the east via the city center of Paris, creating a parabola type shape to its route. It is the third b ...

, Croix de Chavaux, and Mairie de Montreuil. There are several new Métro (Line 11 - Montreuil-Hôpital) and tramway (extension of the T1 tramway) 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).

International relations

Montreuil is twinned with

Cottbus Cottbus (; Lower Sorbian: ''Chóśebuz'' ; Polish: Chociebuż) is a university city and the second-largest city in Brandenburg, Germany. Situated around southeast of Berlin, on the River Spree, Cottbus is also a major railway junction with exten ...

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a states of Germany, state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an ar ...

, Germany and a few other towns and cities of Africa, Asia and Europe.

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Communes of Seine-Saint-Denis Cities in Île-de-France Cities in France