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.

In 2019, it had a population of 1,644,903 across 40 communes.Populations légales 2019: 93 Seine-Saint-Denis
INSEE In French, the learned but rarely used demonym for the inhabitants of Seine-Saint-Denis is ; more common is .

Geography

The department is surrounded by the departments of Hauts-de-Seine, Val-de-Marne, Paris, Val-d'Oise, and Seine-et-Marne. It is thus the only five French departments surrounded entirely by other departments of the same region.

is located to the northeast of Paris. It has a surface area of only 236 km² (91 sq mi), making it one of the smallest departments in France. Seine-Saint-Denis and two other small departments, and , form a ring around Paris, known as the ("little crown"). Since 1 January 2016, together with Paris, they have formed the area of Greater Paris (Grand Paris).

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Saint-Denis; the prefecture Bobigny is the eleventh-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 70,000 inhabitants:

Administration

is made up of three departmental and 40 communes:

History

was created in January 1968, through the implementation of a law passed in July 1964. It was formed from the part of the (hitherto larger) Seine department to the north and north-east of the Paris ring road (and the line of the old city walls), together with a small slice taken from .

has a history as a veritable left-wing stronghold, belonging to the (red belt) of Paris. The French Communist Party especially has maintained a continued strong presence in the department, and still controls the city councils in cities such as , and . Until 2008, and were the only departments where the Communist Party had a majority in the general councils but the 2008 cantonal elections saw the socialists become the strongest group at the general council (while the Communist Party gained a majority in and lost it in 2015).

A commune of , , was the scene of the death of two youths which sparked the nationwide riots of autumn 2005. In October and November, 9,000 cars were burned and 3,000 rioters were arrested.

In 2018, the department had the highest crime rate in metropolitan France. In 2017, the area was the theatre of 18% of all drug offences in metropolitan France.

Demographics

is the French department with the highest proportion of immigrants: 21.7% at the 1999 census (see table below). This figure does not include the children of immigrants born on French soil as well as some native elites from former French colonies and people who came from overseas France. The ratio of ethnic minorities is difficult to estimate accurately as French law prohibits the collection of ethnic data for census taking purposes.

In 2018, the poverty rate was twice the national average at 28%, the unemployment rate was 3 per cent above the national average and 4 percentage points above the Île-de-France average at 12.7%. In 2018, it was estimated that 8–20% of the population in the department were illegal immigrants.

Population development since 1881:

Education

An education study confirmed falling levels of literacy in the area, where the percentage of pupils who had 25 errors or more increased from 5.4% in 1987 to 19.8% in 2015.

Place of birth of residents

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Stéphane Troussel, first elected in 2012.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:Louis XVI et Marie-Antoinette.jpg, Memorial to King Louis XVI and Queen Marie Antoinette in Basilica of St Denis
File:Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace.jpg, Aerospace Museum in
File:Finale Coupe de France 2010-2011 (Lille LOSC vs Paris SG PSG).jpg,
File:Sevran - Canal de l Ourcq 4.jpg,

References

Further reading

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External links

Seine-Saint-Denis Departmental Council


Prefecture website


Seine-Saint-Denis Tourist Board

{{Authority control

1968 establishments in France
Departments of Île-de-France
Venues of the 2024 Summer Olympics
Olympic swimming venues
Olympic diving venues
States and territories established in 1968