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 mi) from the center of Paris. It is the fourth most populous suburb of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt, Saint-Denis and Argenteuil). Montreuil is located near the Bois de Vincennes park.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Seine-Saint-Denis |
| Arrondissement | Bobigny |
| Government | |
| Mayor (2020–2026) | Patrice Bessac (PCF) |
| Area | 8.92 km2 (3.44 sq mi) |
| Population (2017-01-01) | 109,897 |
| Density | 12,000/km2 (32,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Name
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
Today Montreuil 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 including parc Montreau and parc des Beaumonts, bordering on Romainville, Noisy-le-Sec, Rosny-sous-Bois and Fontenay-sous-Bois).
Main artistic heritage
- Decorations (ceramics and frescoes) in the state school “Voltaire” by Maurice Boitel (1954).
Demographics
Montreuil’s inhabitants often exaggeratedly nickname the town the “second Malian town after Bamako”, or sometimes “Mali-sous-Bois” or “Bamako-sur-Seine” even if the Seine doesn’t cross the town. Montreuil has indeed a very important Malian population.
Economy
Video game company Ubisoft has its corporate head office in Montreuil. The Air France 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.
Senior high schools/sixth form colleges:
- Lycée Eugénie-Cotton
- 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 disco 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 50 metres (160 ft) of the Robespierre Paris Métro station and Rue de Paris.