() is a commune in the northeastern 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. S ...

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 center of Paris, between

Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

and le Bourget Airport.

Name

The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th century as . This name is a compound of

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 ...

, meaning 'little houses', from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

(

accusative The accusative case (abbreviated ) of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. In the English language, the only words that occur in the accusative case are pronouns: 'me,' 'him,' 'her,' 'us,' and ‘the ...

), and of Germanic (

Old Frankish Frankish ( reconstructed endonym: *), also known as Old Franconian or Old Frankish, was the West Germanic language spoken by the Franks from the 5th to 9th century. After the Salian Franks settled in Roman Gaul, its speakers in Picardy an ...

) , , meaning 'glossy, shining, white', which gave

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

('white') and

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

''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 had also the meaning of 'free' in

Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...

, and so the name would mean 'free mesnil, free village', perhaps because the villagers had been freed from

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism, and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery, which develop ...

. None of these interpretations is certain.

Geography

Nearest municipalities

Bondy Bondy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the Seine-Saint-Denis department. In 2019, it had a population of 54,587. Name The name Bondy was recorded for the first time around ...

Aulnay-sous-Bois Aulnay-sous-Bois () is a commune in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in the Île-de-France region in the north-eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Aulnaysiens'' o ...

Drancy Drancy () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris in the Seine-Saint-Denis department in northern France. It is located 10.8 km (6.7 mi) from the center of Paris. History Toponymy The name Drancy comes from Medieval Lati ...

Le Bourget Le Bourget () is a Communes of France, commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre zero#France, center of Paris. The commune features Paris - Le Bourget Airport, Le Bourget Airport, which in turn hos ...

Dugny Dugny () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. About a third of Le Bourget airport lies on the territory of the commune of Dugny, including its main terminal and the '' Musée de l'A ...

Bonneuil-en-France Bonneuil-en-France (, literally ''Bonneuil in France'') is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-de-France in northern France. Le Bourget Airport is partially located in the commune. Geography Climate Bonneuil-en-France has a oceani ...

in Val d'Oise and Gonesse.

History

French Revolution

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

Heraldry

Economy

* * in Blanc-Mesnil, Bourget and

. It includes ''Centre Albert Einstein'', created in 1987. * * Garonor * * * * , for tourism business. Three hotels three stars, a Novotel hotel.

French and international companies

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

Population

Immigration

Administration

Political life

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

Parti Communiste Français The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

* Parti Socialiste *

Union for French Democracy The Union for French Democracy (french: Union pour la démocratie française, UDF) was a centre to centre-right political party in France. It was founded in 1978 as an electoral alliance to support President Valéry Giscard d'Estaing in order to c ...

(UDF) *

Union for a Popular Movement The Union for a Popular Movement (french: link=no, Union pour un mouvement populaire, ; UMP, ) was a centre-right political party in France that was one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Social ...

(UMP) * Groupe des Verts

Politics

Mayors

Transport

Le Blanc-Mesnil is served by

Le Blanc-Mesnil () is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris, between Charles de Gaulle Airport and le Bourget Airport. Name The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th centur ...

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

station on Paris RER line B. This station (formerly called ), although administratively located on the territory of the neighboring commune of

, 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. from Le Bourget airport, from

and from , one can easily get to and Disneyland as well as the centre of Paris and the .

Religion

Catholic churches: , , . Evangelic churches:

Education

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. Junior high schools: * * * * Senior high schools: * * * The

Jacques Prévert Jacques Prévert (; 4 February 1900 – 11 April 1977) was a French poet and screenwriter. His poems became and remain popular in the French-speaking world, particularly in schools. His best-regarded films formed part of the poetic realist moveme ...

serves as the municipal library.

Environment

Parks and gardens

* Jacques-Duclos Park * Vineyards produces , a

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern French wine, France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from English wine, Englan ...

* Vegetal wall of Forum culturel by Patrick Blanc * * * Square Stalingrad

Sports

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

International relations

Le Blanc-Mesnil is twinned with:Le Blanc-Mesnil official site
Les jumelages *

Sandwell Sandwell is a metropolitan borough of the West Midlands county in England. The borough is named after the Sandwell Priory, and spans a densely populated part of the West Midlands conurbation. According to Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council, t ...

in the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

region of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

, * Peterhof in

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, * Debre Berhan in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, , om, Itiyoophiyaa, so, Itoobiya, ti, ኢትዮጵያ, Ítiyop'iya, aa, Itiyoppiya officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country in the Horn of Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the ...

, *

Beni Douala Beni Douala is a town and Communes of Algeria, commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria. At Dwala, or Aït Douala (At Dwala in Kabyle language, Kabyle), is located 17 km south-east of Tizi-Ouzou. Villages in the commune At its cr ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , relig ...

. 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

Jérémy Abadie Jérémy Abadie (born 17 October 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays for as a midfielder for AS La Châtaigneraie. Career Abadie was born in Le Blanc-Mesnil, Seine-Saint-Denis () is a department of France located in the Gra ...

, footballer * Adil Aouchiche, footballer * Amara Baby, footballer * Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, hockey player *

Jonathan Biabiany Jonathan Ludovic Biabiany (born 28 April 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a winger for Spanish club San Fernando. During the most notable period of his career (between 2008 and 2014), he was regarded as one of the fastes ...

, footballer * Jean-Felix Dorothee, footballer *

Abdou Doumbia Abdou Doumbia (born 7 June 1990) is a French footballer who plays as a forward for Italian club Pergolettese. Career Born in France with French father and Malian mother, Doumbia spent most of his youth career in a suburb of Paris. He started h ...

, footballer * Morgaro Gomis, footballer *

Raphaël Guerreiro Raphaël Adelino José Guerreiro (; born 22 December 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as left-back or as a midfielder for Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund and the Portugal national team. He began his career at Caen, signing in 20 ...

, footballer *

Sylvie Guillem Sylvie Guillem (; born 23 February 1965) is a French ballet dancer. Guillem was the top-ranking female dancer with the Paris Opera Ballet from 1984 to 1989, before becoming a principal guest artist with the Royal Ballet in London. She has ...

, star dancer at Paris Opera *

Patrick Hernandez Patrick Pierre Hernandez (born 6 April 1949) is a French singer who had a worldwide hit with "Born to Be Alive" in 1979. Biography Born to a Spanish father and an Italian mother in Le Blanc-Mesnil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Hernandez grew up in the 1 ...

, famous singer of

Born to Be Alive ''Born to Be Alive'' is the first studio album by Patrick Hernandez, released internationally in 1978 and in the US in 1979. It features the eponymous disco hit "Born to Be Alive" as well as a less-successful single, "Disco Queen". Background W ...

* Mickael Marolany, footballer * Fabien Marsaud, known as Grand Corps Malade, slam poet * Fabrice N'Sakala, footballer * Moussa Sissoko, footballer *

Ludovic Sylvestre Ludovic Sylvestre (born 5 February 1984) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. He is the sporting director at Red Star F.C., Red Star. Club career Youth career Born in the Communes of France ...

, footballer *

Tristan Valentin Tristan Valentin (born 23 February 1982 in Le Blanc-Mesnil, Seine-Saint-Denis) is a French professional road bicycle racer, who last rode for the team. Doping Valentin tested positive for Heptaminol on 6 June 2006. The UCI summary of 'Decisions ...

, road bicycle racer * Élisabeth Vonarburg, writer of science-fiction

References

Bibliography

* ''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 Pierre Bourgeade (7 November 1927 – 12 March 2009) was a French man of letters, playwright, poet, writer, director, journalist, literary critic and photographer. A descendant of Jean Racine, he was also the brother-in-law of the writer Paule Con ...

, 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).

External links

Official website

Forum culturel

Blog du Forum culturel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blancmesnil Communes of Seine-Saint-Denis

Name

Geography

Nearest municipalities

History

French Revolution

Heraldry

Economy

French and international companies

Population

Immigration

Administration

Political life

Politics

Mayors

Transport

Religion

Education

Environment

Parks and gardens

Sports

International relations

Personalities

See also

References

Bibliography

External links