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

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. 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 commune in the Parisian area, located from its centre. It is a subprefecture of the Hauts-de-Seine department and t ...

, Saint-Denis and

Argenteuil Argenteuil () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise department, the seat of the arrondissement of Argenteuil. Argenteuil is the sec ...

. It is located north of Paris's Bois de Vincennes (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 ...

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 whic ...

" 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 Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...

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, a ...

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 President ...

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: * Le bas Montreuil (which joins together the old workshops (bordering on

Saint-Mandé Saint-Mandé () is a high-end commune of the Val-de-Marne department in Île-de-France in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. It is one of the smallest communes of the Île-de-France by land area, but ...

), the '' marché aux puces'' (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 Bagnolet), * Le Bel Air (

Jean Moulin Jean Pierre Moulin (; 20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a French civil servant and French Resistance, 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 ...

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

, Noisy-le-Sec, Rosny-sous-Bois 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 Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his '' nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—e ...

" 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. * 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, nota ...

''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 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 the Niger Rive ...

", 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 , tributa ...

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 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 identified ...

(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 The canton of Montreuil-2 is an administrative division of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, ...

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 a ...

Paris office (of Air France-KLM) 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 In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children betwee ...

* Lycée Jean Jaurès * Lycée Condorcet 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 station and Rue de Paris.

Notable residents and personalities

* Pierre de Montreuil, 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, 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 Mehdi Abeid ( ar, مهدي عبيد; born 6 August 1992) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for UAE Pro League club Khor Fakkan and the Algeria national team. Early life Abeid was born in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Fran ...

, 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 Belgia ...

, 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 Sacha Boey (born 13 September 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Süper Lig club Galatasaray. Club career Boey made his professional debut with Rennes in a 2–2 Ligue 1 tie with Toulouse FC on 5 May 2019. ...

, 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 ...

, footballer *

Emmanuel Flipo Emmanuel Flipo (born 1958 in Agen) is a French artist, who currently lives and works in Montreuil and Pézenas. Flipo studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Toulouse in 1977. From 1978 to 1982, he continued his studies at the Ecole des Arts D� ...

, artist * Pape Gueye, footballer *

Sikou Niakate A Chinese compound surname is a Chinese surname using more than one character. Many of these compound surnames derive from Zhou dynasty Chinese noble and official titles, professions, place names and other areas, to serve a purpose. Some are ori ...

, footballer *

Elisha Owusu Elisha Owusu (born 7 November 1997) is a professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Auxerre. Born in France, he plays for the Ghana national team. Club career Owusu is a youth product of Lyon, joining in 2010 and became the ca ...

, 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 *

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, cinematographer *

Nicolas Aithadi Nicolas Aithadi (born April 23, 1972, in Saint-Denis, France) is a French visual effects supervisor working in London, Vancouver and Los Angeles. Career Aithadi began his career from low-budget films to blockbusters such as ''Troy'', ''Charlie ...

, 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, director *

Abel Thermeus Abel Thermeus (born 19 January 1983) is a Haitian football player, who is a striker. He played for Atromitos Yeroskipou. France-born Thermeus spent a couple of unsuccessful years at Monaco before moving to lower league side Créteil. In Ja ...

, footballer *

Frédéric Verger Frédéric Verger (15 March 1959, Montreuil-sous-Bois) is a French writer. Biography The holder of an agrégation ès letters since 1986, Frédéric Verger is currently a professor of French in the lycée d'Arsonval at Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. ...

, writer * Christophe Guilluy, geographer *

Helno Noël Rota (December 25, 1963 – January 22, 1993), better known by his stage name Helno, was a French singer and member of the alternative rock bands Lucrate Milk, Bérurier Noir, and Les Négresses Vertes. Early life Rota was born in the eas ...

(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 band active from 1983 to 1989. The band reformed from 2003 to 2006. The band is associated with anarcho-punk Anarcho-punk (also known as anarchist punk or peace punk) is ideological subgenre of punk rock that pr ...

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 as ...

* Adèle Haenel, actress * Ethan Mbappè,French footballer

Transport

Montreuil is served by three stations on Paris Métro Line 9:

, 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,

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a 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 area of 29,480 squ ...

, 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

Name

History

Main artistic heritage

Heraldry

Geography

Climate

Demographics

Population

Immigration

Administration

Economy

Education

Notable residents and personalities

Transport

International relations

See also

References

External links