Aubervilliers

Localisation

Aubervilliers is one of three communes in the Plaine Saint-Denis, 7.2 km (4.5 mi) north-east of the centre of Paris.

The Canal Saint-Denis traverses the commune on the western side from north to south.

Transport and communications

Aubervilliers is a commune close to Paris and has numerous means of transport including: the A86 autoroute from L'Ile-Saint-Denis in the west to Drancy in the east with Exit 9 on the northern border of the commune, Route nationale N301 from Stains in the north and joining the Paris ring road in the south, the D20 from Gennevilliers in the west, the D27 from Bobigny in the east, and the D115 from Pantin in the south-east. The Paris ring road is just outside the southern border of the commune and there are two access routes to it: by the Porte d'Aubervilliers and by the Porte de la Villette. These roads provide easy access to the network of roads and motorways around Paris as well as Le Bourget and Charles de Gaulle airports.

The Canal Saint-Denis once had important river ports and there was the Paris-Hirson railway and an industrial railway for Saint-Denis/Aubervilliers which served the Plaine Saint-Denis.

Public transport in the commune

The RER railway passes through the north of the commune and the station of Corneuve-Aubervilliers, located just north of the commune on the N301 road, serves Aubervilliers. There are also two Metro stations on the south-western border on Avenue Jean-Jaures: Aubervilliers-Pantin-Quatre Chemins at the corner of Ave. de la Republique, and Fort d'Aubervilliers at the corner of Ave. de la Division Leclerc.

The commune is served by:

Urban Morphology

The main quarters or districts of the commune are:

Toponymy

The town is mentioned in the Latinised form Albertivillare in 1059. It is from this that the inhabitants are known as Albertivillarien.

The place name of -villiers (a variant of -villier, -villers, -viller, coming from the Low Latin villare, derived from villa - progressively meaning "farm", "village", then "town") is a characteristic appellative for agricultural domains in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. The first part is the Germanic personal name Adalbertus from which are derived the names Albert (English form) and Aubert (French form) and also became a surname. It is homonymous with a hamlet in Seine-et-Marne, Aubervilliers, and Auberville in Normandy (the others are explained by the Old Norse personal name Osbern giving Auber, the name of a Norman family).

Origins

As with many communes in the outer suburbs the town had long been a rural area. Formerly known as Notre-Dame-des-Vertus, the village was on a plain which produced the best vegetables around Paris.

Middle Ages

Aubervilliers first appears in the archives in 1059 as Albertivillare, meaning "estate of Adalbert". In the following year Henry I donated it to the Priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs. In 1111 the serfs were freed in Aubervilliers. In 1182 the priory of Saint-Martin-des-Champs, located in Paris, granted Paris butchers the right to freely graze their cattle in the fields after the harvest was over. In 1221, Guillaume Bateste, lord of Franconville, became the first Lord of Vivier les Aubervilliers. The church, which at the beginning of the 13th century depended on one of the parishes of Saint Denis, soon became famous for the miraculous appearance of an image of the Virgin.

In 1336 Father Jacques Du Breul, Prior of the Abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, reported the Miracle of the rain: A young girl busy preparing flowers to adorn the statue of the Virgin in the church saw her face streaming with tears when the rain began to fall on the parched crops. In 1338 King Philip VI of France and his queen went to Aubervilliers to visit the image. From 1340 to 1792 people went there in droves each year from Paris and its surroundings. In 1402 Michel de Laillier, Lord of Ermenonville, became Lord of Vivier les Aubervilliers. In 1429 the town was occupied by the English but was retaken by Michel de Laillier in 1436. Louis XI went there in November 1474 to the house of Pierre L’Orfèvre, the new Lord of Vivier from then until August 1478. The image of the Virgin in lead that the king wore on his hat was a representation of the one at Aubervilliers.

In 1531 the Lordship of Vivier les Aubervilliers was sold to the Montholon family which held it until 1779. The facade and tower of the church were built in the reign of Henry II. Civil wars which the Armagnacs stirred up in France led to the destruction of the village but the abundant alms of the many pilgrims who came from all sides allowed a prompt reconstruction. On 10 November 1567 the Battle of Saint-Denis took place in the Plaine Saint-Denis between the Catholic army of Anne de Montmorency and the Protestant troops of the Prince of Condé.

Henri IV stayed in Aubervilliers during the Siege of Paris in 1590.

From the Renaissance to the 18th century

The visit by Louis XIII in 1613, then again in 1614 and 1628, allowed the development of pilgrimage to Notre-Dame des Virtues. Jacques Gallemant, pastor of Aubervilliers, allowed a community of Oratorians to settle in Aubervilliers in 1618. They took charge of the Church of Notre-Dame-des-Vertus and developed an important pilgrimage around the statue of the Virgin of Aubervilliers. The installation from 1622 of a "House of Notre-Dame des Vertus" by the Oratorians of John de Bérulle then its progressive extension throughout the 17th century made Aubervilliers an important centre of French Catholic spirituality. Thinkers, "pious and famous faithful" such as Francis de Sales, Vincent de Paul, John Eudes (he stayed for two years), Jean-Jacques Ollier, Jean-Baptiste de La Salle, the philosopher Nicolas Malebranche, and the son of the great Jean Racine - the poet Louis Racine participated in a pilgrimage there and returned. At the end of the 17th century and in the first half of the 18th century, the House of Oratorians of Aubervilliers became a "stronghold" of the Jansenist dissent.

In 1649, during the Fronde, Aubervilliers fell into misery. Crops were destroyed, death reigned and population declined. There were 125 deaths in 1652 in a population of about 1,500 inhabitants. Nevertheless, the small town was reborn although until the 19th century it was populated by farmers. Proximity to the Paris markets promoted Market gardening, especially on the Plain of Vertus which was famous for its onions and a wide range of vegetables. The existence of the Mazier farm at 70 Rue Heurtault is attested by a document in 1699.

French Revolution and Empire

On 12 August 1787 the first meeting of the Municipal Assembly of Aubervilliers took place. In 1789 there was alist of grievances, complaints and remonstrances written by Mesme Monard, the parish priest, and one of the leaders against the Oratorians. On 24 January 1790 the election of the first mayor of Aubervilliers took place: Nicolas Lemoine was elected. In 1792 the boundary of the commune of Aubervilliers was delineated.

During the Napoleonic Wars, the Plain of Aubervilliers was, in 1814 and 1815, the scene of a bloody battle between French troops and the Prussians who took and re-took it several times. The French soldiers were overpowered by numbers and were eventually forced to abandon it.

From the Restoration to the Paris Commune

On 13 May 1821 the Canal Saint-Denis opened. In 1832, an outbreak of cholera decimated the population. In 1840 a factory was set up to manufacture soap from resin. The Fort d'Aubervilliers was built in 1843 - it was part of the Thiers wall, a structure authorised in 1840 by Adolphe Thiers to protect Paris and, where appropriate, to subdue its rebellions forming an elongated belt around Paris. It was used for the repression of the Paris Commune. The grounds of the fort and its surroundings are part of Aubervilliers commune. In 1861 the Central Market was created.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, a small part of the commune of Aubervilliers was annexed to the city of Paris. At the same time, the commune of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Aubervilliers, Saint-Denis, and Saint-Ouen. Aubervilliers received a small part of the territory of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis.

The Industrial Revolution and the expansion of Paris radically changed the situation in Aubervilliers. Industries were established next to the canal. On 6 October 1862 Baron Hainguerlot began the operation of General Stores in Saint-Denis. In 1866 he moved to Aubervilliers. In 1866 Saint-Gobain purchased a factory manufacturing sulphuric acid from John Frédéric Boyd which was located on Rue du Landy. On 12 September 1867 Lady Lequin began operating a Match factory at a place called La Motte, Rue du Vivier.

During the Siege of Paris in 1870 the municipal government took refuge in Paris at 20 Boulevard de Strasbourg. At the beginning of 1877 a tramway arrived in the city centre. In 1879, the boyauderie (Tripe factory) owned by Mr. Jacquart was established. It was later purchased by Witt SA, a boyaudier from La Courneuve. The whole complex was bought in 1921 by the Wanner establishment who manufactured insulating materials: ceramic, plaster, and cork tiles. On 18 June 1897 a grease manufacturing factory (industrial oils and greases) was established on Chemin Haut de St Denis at Aubervilliers and remained in operation until the Second World War. In 1898 a tram depot was built at the corner of the Avenue de la République No. 30 and Rue du Midi.

The Belle Époque to the Second World War

At the end of the 19th century the life of the small town was already closely linked to nascent industrialization. People from Belgium, Lorraine, Alsace, Brittany, Spain, and Italy arrived in successive waves. This capacity to absorb and mix populations is characteristic of the history of the commune. Workers come to live in the suburbs which were cheaper than in Paris. Ever since Aubervilliers has been a multicultural city where more than 70 nationalities live.

For decades major industries shaped the identity of the city.

The district of Quatre-Chemins, which straddles the boundary of Aubervilliers and Pantin, was pejoratively nicknamed La Petite Prusse (Little Prussia) due to many immigrants coming to work in the Saint-Gobain glassworks - established in 1866 next to the canal. The identity of the district led them to ask in vain for the status of full-function commune at the end of the 19th century.

Contemporary period

The construction of the Stade de France (Stadium of France) just north of the commune in 1998 was a stimulating element in the Saint-Denis Plain. With its 750 hectares on the outskirts of Paris, The Saint-Denis Plain covers one third of Aubervilliers and extends over Saint-Denis and Saint-Ouen. Since the early 2000s this area, which was one of the largest industrial areas in Europe, has been changing and should receive the Campus Condorcet in the late 2010s.

In 2014, the commune has been awarded "two flowers" by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

The Franco-Chinese Friendship Association stated that from November 2015 to August 2016 over 100 ethnic Chinese in Aubervilliers had been robbed. 49-year old Chaoling Zhang (张朝林 Zhāng Cháolín), beaten in a robbery, died on August 16, 2016.

Politics and administration

Until the law of 10 July 1964 the commune was part of the department of Seine. The redistribution of the former departments of Seine and Seine-et-Oise resulted in the commune becoming part of Seine-Saint-Denis after the administrative transfer effective from 1 January 1968.

Aubervilliers is the only commune of the canton of Aubervilliers, created in 2015. It is one of the 9 communes of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis.

Political trends and results

In the 2008 municipal elections, the PS came first in the first round of 9 March 2008 but lost against the list headed by the PCF. Despite the national agreements to desist in favour of the leftist list in the best position, the PS list led by Jacques Salvator was maintained in the second round and won the election with 41.48% of the vote against the list of the incumbent mayor, Pascal Beaudet (PCF), the UMP, and the MoDem.

In March 2011 in the cantonal elections (Canton of Aubervilliers-Est) Pascal Beaudet (PCF, PG, GU, ZIP, Federated) again led the first round (30.9%) in the context of a record abstention rate (72.3%). The Socialist candidate continued again in the second round, as in 2008 but this time Pascal Beaudet won the election in the second round (50.76%). The two cantons of Aubervilliers are now run by the communists (Jean-Jacques Karman and Pascal Beaudet).

Mayors

List of Successive Mayors

(Not all data is known)

Twinning

Aubervilliers has twinning associations with:

Immigration

Ethnic Chinese from Wenzhou began arriving in Aubervilliers in the 1980s and 1990s to participate in the textile industry. In 2016 protests staged by ethnic Chinese occurred after several Chinese in Aubervilliers were attacked. As of 2016 4,000 ethnic Chinese live in Aubervilliers.

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 76,087 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger towns that have a sample survey every year.

The results of the 2010 Census conducted by INSEE shows that the upward trend in the population continues dramatically since in the last ten years the population has grown by 20.5% from 63,130 to 76,087 inhabitants. Although the thesis of an increased supply of housing is only partially relevant, the number of dwellings having increased by 1,975 from 1999 to 2010 or 6.9%, the question should be considered differently and in particular addressing the densification of tenure which probably has an effect on the quality of life and the sharp decline in the number of vacant units which have decreased from 3,184 in 1999 to 1,566 in 2010.

Between 1982 and 1999 43,000 people reported that they would come to live in Aubervilliers (68.1% of the population in 1999) and, as the population decreased by 4,589 during the period, it can be concluded that nearly 48,000 people left Aubervilliers. We can deduce from these figures that only a third of the population is stable.

The decade 2000–2010 saw a marked relaunching of demographics in the wake of the economic revival of the Plaine-Saint-Denis. The migration in the commune became positive (+0.4% per year from 1999 to 2010) and was combined with a natural balance growth (+1.75% per year). The increase is particularly noticeable in the western canton of la Villette in Landy. This strong recovery makes it necessary for the joint construction of a school (kindergarten and primary) from 2010 to 2014.

In 2010 there were 31,379 immigrants in Aubervilliers (or 41.2% of the population of the commune - the highest proportion in the department), including 3,919 from the European Union, 1,418 from the rest of Europe, 11,313 from the Maghreb, and 6,810 from the rest of Africa According to demographer Michèle Tribalat, in 2005 about three-quarters of young people under 18 years old in the commune are foreign or French of foreign origin, mainly from the Maghreb and sub-Saharan Africa.

Distribution of age groups

Percentage Distribution of Age Groups in Aubervilliers and Seine-Saint-Denis Department in 2010

Sources:

Economy

In economic terms Aubervilliers is the fourth largest city in the department of Seine-Saint-Denis with 30,000 jobs and 2,444 businesses in the private sector.

The city has a dense network of SMEs representing 25% of employment. These SMEs include research laboratories such as Rhodia (730 jobs) and Saint-Gobain (400 jobs), large public institutions such as Orange S.A., Documentation française, transport services such as La Poste, and the workshops of La Villette such as the Paris Métro and a large RATP bus depot.

77% of available jobs are today in services, transport, and retailing. Industrial activities are present with companies such as lampes Aric, Thyssen elevators, Messier-Bugatti-Dowty, and Vesuvius plc. Headquarters and administrative departments of large firms have also established here: Rhodia, KDI, Motul, Lapeyre-GME (3,400 staff), and Zurich Insurance).

New industries have developed in recent years:

Another sign of this change has been the strengthening of wholesale and import-export activities. With more than 300 establishments concentrated in the Entrepôts et Magasins généraux de Paris (Warehouses and General Stores of Paris) (EMGP) and also around the Port of Aubervilliers (district of La Haie-Coq), this sector is a new business area in strong development. Haie-Coq imports are cheap manufactured goods of all kinds (textiles, watches, toys, decoration, gadgets), usually from Chinese products, which distributed throughout France. The CIFA - Fashion Business Center is the centre of this business.

Civil heritage

Religious heritage

Education

Aubervilliers has 14 kindergartens, 15 elementary schools, 5 collèges (middle schools), and 4 lycées (high schools). The city also has three private establishments and several specialized institutions. The collèges (middle schools) include Diderot, Rosa Luxemburg, Jean Moulin, Gabriel Péri, and Henri Wallon. The lycées include Lycée Polyvalent D'Alembert, Lycée d'enseignement général et technologique Le Corbusier ("Le Corbusier High School of General and Technological Education"), Lycée professionnel Jean-Pierre Timbaud ("Jean Pierre Timbaud Vocational High School"), and Lycée d'enseignement général et technologique Henri Wallon ("Henri Wallon High School of General and Technical Education").

Hospitals and clinics

Theatre

Cinema

Libraries

Arts

Historical figures

Artistes

Sportsmen