Le Blanc-Mesnil

For the village and former commune in the Seine-Maritime, see Blanc-Mesnil.
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Commune
The view towards the town hall
The view towards the town hall
Coat of arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner suburbs
Location (in red) within Paris inner suburbs
Location of Le Blanc-Mesnil
Map
Le Blanc-Mesnil is located in France
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Le Blanc-Mesnil is located in Île-de-France (region)
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Le Blanc-Mesnil
Coordinates: 48°56′19″N 2°27′41″E / 48.938725°N 2.461383°E / 48.938725; 2.461383
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentSeine-Saint-Denis
ArrondissementLe Raincy
CantonLe Blanc-Mesnil
IntercommunalityGrand Paris
Government
 • Mayor (2021–2026) Jean-Philippe Ranquet[1]
Area
1
8.05 km2 (3.11 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
58,257
 • Density7,200/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
93007 /93150
Elevation37–47 m (121–154 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Le Blanc-Mesnil (French pronunciation: [lə blɑ̃ menil] ⓘ) is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.6 km (7.8 mi) from the center of Paris, between Charles de Gaulle Airport and Le Bourget Airport.

Name

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The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th century as Mansionile Blaun. This name is a compound of Medieval Latin Mansionile, meaning 'little houses', from Latin mansio (accusative mansionem), and of Germanic (Old Frankish) blanch, blaun, meaning 'glossy, shining, white', which gave French blanc ('white') and English blank.

The name is interpreted by some as a reference to the houses of Le Blanc-Mesnil which were whitened due to the flour dust coming from the windmills located there in ancient times. One researcher, however, thinks that blanc had also the meaning of 'free' in Old French, and so the name would mean 'free mesnil, free village', perhaps because the villagers had been freed from serfdom. None of these interpretations is certain.

Geography

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Nearest municipalities

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History

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Prehistory and Antiquity

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A discovery in 1984 concerning archeological excavation found three polished axes and modified flint attests a human presence in Le Blanc-Mesnil in the Neolithic period and the Gallo-Roman era.[3] Shards of gallic ceramic were found.[4]

The Morée and Molette rivers nearby and the existence of an ancient Roman road support this theory.[5]

French Revolution

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On 2 December 1792, a third of the territory of Aulnay was detached and became the commune of Le Blanc-Mesnil.

Heraldry

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Arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil
Arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil
 The arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil are blazoned :
Azure, a cross engrailed Or, a canton chequy argent and azure, in 2nd and 3rd a hand appaumy, in 4th a drageoir (sweetsdish) Or



Economy

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  • Parc d'activité du Coudray
  • Zone industrielle de la Molette in Blanc-Mesnil, Bourget and Drancy. It includes Centre Albert Einstein, created in 1987.
  • Parc Modus
  • Garonor
  • Pont-Yblon
  • Centre d'affaires international Paris Nord II
  • Carré des Aviateurs
  • Espace Descartes, for tourism business. Three hotels three stars, a Novotel hotel.[6]

French and international companies

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Several French companies have their world headquarters in Blanc-Mesnil, such as Forclum and Sicli.

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 120—    
1800 63−8.79%
1806 83+4.70%
1821 81−0.16%
1831 96+1.71%
1836 109+2.57%
1841 95−2.71%
1846 128+6.14%
1851 119−1.45%
1856 109−1.74%
1861 105−0.74%
1866 138+5.62%
1872 128−1.25%
1876 156+5.07%
1881 166+1.25%
1886 170+0.48%
1891 165−0.60%
1896 170+0.60%
1901 213+4.61%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1906 978+35.64%
1911 1,770+12.60%
1921 3,932+8.31%
1926 10,688+22.14%
1931 19,343+12.60%
1936 21,660+2.29%
1946 18,277−1.68%
1954 25,363+4.18%
1962 35,708+4.37%
1968 48,487+5.23%
1975 49,107+0.18%
1982 47,037−0.61%
1990 46,956−0.02%
1999 46,936−0.00%
2007 50,910+1.02%
2012 52,213+0.51%
2017 56,783+1.69%
2021 58,257+0.64%
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968-2017)[8]

Immigration

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Place of birth of residents of Le Blanc-Mesnil in 1999
Born in metropolitan France Born outside metropolitan France
72.5% 27.5%
Born in
overseas France 		Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth1 EU-15 immigrants2 Non-EU-15 immigrants
3.9% 2.7% 5.5% 15.4%
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as pieds-noirs in Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.

2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.

Administration

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Political life

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The following political parties have a permanent base in Blanc-Mesnil:

Politics

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Mayors

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Since Libération

  • Jean-Philippe Ranquet, LR, since 2021.
  • Thierry Meignen, LR, 2014-2021.
  • Didier Mignot, PC, 2008-2014.
  • Daniel Feurtet, PC, 1989-2008.
  • Robert Fregossy, PC, 1965-1989.
  • Eugène le Moign, PC, 1945-1965.

Between 1860 and 1945

  • Maurice Lambot, 1943–1945
  • Alfred Dubuissez, 1941–1943
  • Bernard Legrand, 1939–1941
  • Henri Duquenne, PC, 1935–1939
  • Marcel Gerdil, SFIO, 1929–1935
  • André Neufinck, 1908–1929
  • Pierre-Hippolyte Jouslain, 1905–1908
  • Marcel-Edouard Renault, 1892–1905
  • Michel Renault, 1860-1892[9]

Transport

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Le Blanc-Mesnil is served by Le Blanc-Mesnil station on Paris RER line B.

Le Blanc-Mesnil is also served by Drancy station on Paris RER line B. This station (formerly called Blanc-Mesnil-Drancy), although administratively located on the territory of the neighboring commune of Drancy, is the closest from the town center of Le Blanc-Mesnil and is thus used by people in Le Blanc-Mesnil.

The bus company provides 17 lines of buses to travel within the city.

Ideally placed at the junction between the A1 and the A3.

2.5 km (1.6 mi) from Le Bourget airport, 7 km (4.3 mi) from Charles de Gaulle Airport and 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, one can easily get to Parc Astérix and Disneyland as well as the centre of Paris and the Stade de France.

Religion

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Catholic churches: Église Notre-Dame, Église Saint-Charles, Église Sainte-Thérèse. Evangelic churches: Charisma Église Chrétienne

Education

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The commune has the following schools: four preschools in the south, seven preschools in the centre of town, and six preschools in the north. It has four elementary schools in the south, six elementary schools in the centre, and six elementary schools in the north.[10]

Junior high schools:

  • Collège Aimé et Eugénie Cotton
  • Collège Descartes[11]
  • Collège Marcel Cachin
  • Collège Nelson Mandela

Senior high schools:

The Médiathèque Edouard Glissant/Bibliothèque Jacques Prévert serves as the municipal library.[12]

Environment

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Parks and gardens

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  • Jacques-Duclos Park
  • Vineyards produces Clos blanc-mesnilois, a Chardonnay
  • Vegetal wall of Forum culturel by Patrick Blanc
  • Place de l'eau
  • Jardin de Montillet
  • Square Stalingrad

Sports

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Blanc-Mesnil Sports (BMS), founded in 2005, is the city's sport club.

International relations

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Le Blanc-Mesnil is twinned with:[13]

For fifteen years, twinning between le Blanc-Mesnil and Debre Berhan has been based on the development: water sanitation, education, construction of roads. In a rare spirit, that of a collaboration of equal to equal.

Personalities

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 4 May 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ http://www.atlas-patrimoine93.fr/pg-html/bases_doc/inventaire/fiche.php?idfic=007s012 retrieved July 21, 2023.
  4. ^ https://www.blancmesnil.fr/sites/default/files/histoire_du_blancmesnil.pdf retrieved July 21, 2023.
  5. ^ https://www.blancmesnil.fr/sites/default/files/histoire_du_blancmesnil.pdf retrieved July 21, 2023.
  6. ^ Site de Hotels World
  7. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Le Blanc-Mesnil, EHESS (in French).
  8. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  9. ^ Archives municipales
  10. ^ "Les écoles." Le Blanc-Mesnil. Retrieved on September 4, 2016.
  11. ^ "Collège Descartes." French Department of Education. Retrieved on September 4, 2016.
  12. ^ "Médiathèque Edouard Glissant/Bibliothèque Jacques Prévert Archived 2016-09-20 at the Wayback Machine." Le Blanc-Mesnil. Retrieved on September 4, 2016.
  13. ^ Le Blanc-Mesnil official site, Les jumelages

Bibliography

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  • Le Blanc-Mesnil et son passé, Ernest Soitel, 1969.
  • Histoire anecdotique de Blanc-Mesnil, Albert Galicier, 1973.
  • Le Blanc-Mesnil des temps modernes : 1935-1985, 1986.
  • Le Blanc-Mesnil, Pierre Bourgeade, Gilles Smadja, Jean-Pierre Vallorani, Françoise Vasseur, 1992.
  • Le Blanc-Mesnil : citoyens de demain, Patrick Laigre et Jocelyne Héquet, 1993.
  • Le Blanc-Mesnil : 2000 regards, Photographies de Luc Choquer, François Crignon, Erwan Guillard, 1999.
  • Le Blanc-Mesnil, Christian Massart, 2005.
  • Twinning between Le Blanc-Mesnil and Debré-Berhan (in English and French).
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