Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis
alt mini=52 m |alt maxi=117 m |hectares=892 |km²=8.92 |sans=
101,400
90,674 |date-sans=July 1, 2004 estimate)
(March 8, 1999 census|dens=11,368|date-dens=2004|}}
Montreuil (sometimes unofficially called Montreuil-sous-Bois) is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.6 km. (4.1 miles) from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.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 this small monastery.On January 1, 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. | Parisian metro station "Mairie de Montreuil" |
This city sheltered under the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XVI the walls with fishings of the Court. Later it sheltered the Lumière brothers and George Méliès in their workshops located in lower Montreuil.
Today Montreuil-sous-Bois is divided into several districts:
* Le bas Montreuil (which joins together the old workshops (bordering on Saint-Mandé), 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),
* La noue (parc des Guilands, city of du Val, Robespierre, bordering on Bagnolet),
* Le Bel Air (Jean Moulin housing estate, park des Beaumonts, city of Bel Air, city of Grand Pechers),
* La Boissière (all the north of Montreuil, bordering on Noisy-le-Sec, Rosny-sous-Bois and Fontenay-sous-Bois).
Montreuil is a city including 70% of arrondissement made up of cities HLM, all built at the end of the 1960s, at the beginning of the 1970s. Real park HLM renait today, with the construction of some buildings (a less oppressive architecture). 20% of the city are represented by the residences and houses, 5% by the sporting complexes and parks, and 5% for unused factories and empty workshops.
Despite everything that it reigns in Montreuil a very particular atmosphere, between mixture of the cultures and of the ethnic groups, artistic activity maintained since the years, one can go in summer to laying down sun in the streets and being taken of euphoria, or to look at the rain falling by the window one day gray from October.Main artistic heritage* Decorations (ceramics and frescoes) in the state school "Voltaire" by Maurice Boitel(1954).Since 1984, the mayor of Montreuil is Jean-Pierre Brard, a colourful ex-Communist who leaves few indifferent. His supporters point to the large amounts of good quality social housing and an active cultural policy. His critics point to harsh treatment of travellers and Roms, and a tendency to control all kinds of voluntary organizations around the city.
He caused particular controversy in 2004 and 2005 by his wishing to go further than the law banning Muslim headscarfs in schools. He tried, with some success, to ban mothers wearing headscarfs from accompanying school outings.
He has always been interested in fighting against what he terms "sects", but has also surrounded himself with some supporters who are very extreme in their opposition to the influence of islam.
The city is divided into three cantons :
*The canton of Montreuil-Est (East): 33,730 inhabitants (37.2%);
*The canton of Montreuil-Nord (North): 28,436 inhabitants (31.4%);
*The canton of Montreuil-Ouest (West): 28,508 inhabitants (31.4%).Montreuil is served by three stations on Paris Metro line 9: Robespierre, Croix de Chavaux, and Mairie de Montreuil.* Official website
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