Bobigny

Bobigny () is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, ÃŽle-de-France, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Bobigny is the prefecture (capital city) of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, as well as the seat of the Arrondissement of Bobigny. It is the 11th most populous ''commune'' in Seine-Saint-Denis (2019).

Inhabitants are called ''Balbyniens''. Bobigny is the seat of the Seine-Saint-Denis prefecture. The first IKEA store in France was located in this commune.

Urbanism

Typology

Bobigny is an urban commune, as it is one of the dense or intermediate density communes, as defined by the Insee communal density grid. It belongs to the urban unit of Paris, an inter-departmental conurbation comprising 407 communes and 10,785,092 inhabitants in 2017, of which it is a suburban commune.

The commune is also part of the functional area of Paris where it is located in the main population and employment centre of the functional area. This area comprises 1,929 communes.

Transport

Bobigny is served by two stations on Paris Métro Line 5: Bobigny – Pantin – Raymond Queneau and Bobigny – Pablo Picasso. It can also be reached from the outer terminus of Paris Métro Line 7 at La Courneuve.

Economy

Valeo has management branches (Valeo Transmissions group and Valeo Friction Materials group) here. It was also the manufacturing base used by Meccano for French '' Dinky Toys'' from 1933 until 1970, when the factory was closed and later demolished. Production of Dinky Toys was then transferred to the Meccano factory in Calais until 1972, when the last new model, a Renault 4 la poste, was produced.

Toponymy

Its name is derived from Roman-period ''Balbiniacum'', "the place of Balbo or Balbinus or Balbinius"; or "of the dumb or silent man/men" (Gaulish: Irish Gaelic ''balbh'' = "dumb, silent").

History

During the Second World War, approximately 20,000 jews were transported Bobigny station to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps.

The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1974.

Population

List of mayors

Education

The commune has 14 public preschools (''écoles maternelles''), 15 public elementary schools, four public junior high schools, three public senior high schools/sixth-form colleges, and one private school.Scolarité et enseignements
" Bobigny. Retrieved on 4 September 2016.
* Junior high schools: Collège Auguste Delaune, Collège Jean-Pierre Timbaud, Collège Pierre Sémard, and Collège République et SEGPA
" Bobigny. Retrieved on 4 September 2016.
*Senior high/Sixth-form: Lycée professionnel Alfred Costes, Lycée Louise Michel, Lycée polyvalent André Sabatier
* École, collège et lycée Charles Péguy is a private school from elementary to senior high/sixth-form

There is also a school of hotel management, École hôtelière de Bobigny.

The Bobigny campus of Paris 13 University is its second-largest. It focuses on the medical sciences, and hosts a strong medical degree.

Personalities

Bobigny is the birthplace of:
* Charles Itandje (born 1982), football goalkeeper
* Gaël Monfils, tennis player
* Valentin Courrent, rugby player
* Odsonne Edouard, football player

Bobigny is the place of death of:

• Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter.

Heraldry

International relations

Bobigny is twinned with:
* Serpukhov, Moscow Oblast (Russia)
* Potsdam, Brandenburg (Germany)

See also

* Communes of the Seine-Saint-Denis department
* Bobigny cemetery

Notes

References

External links

Official website
(in French)

{{Authority control

Communes of Seine-Saint-Denis
Prefectures in France