Vénissieux

Geography

Vénissieux is located on the southern outskirts of Lyon.

Toponymy

The name Vénissieux derives from Latin Viniciacum, itself crafted upon a Roman villa landlord named Vinicius. Inhabitants are called 'Vénissians'.

History

In May 1944 the industries are damaged by the bombing (especially Berliet factories). On 2 September 1944, Vénissieux is freed from the Nazis.

Riots in September 1981, occurring particularly in the area of Les Minguettes, were some of the first of their kind in suburban neighborhoods in France. In summer 1983, harsh clashes were held between police and young people in the Minguettes neighborhood.

During the riots, Toumi Djaïdja, the young president of the association 'SOS Avenir Minguettes', was wounded by a policeman and rushed to the hospital. Police chases, cars burned, urban damage... These events are filmed and widely mediatised. Residents of the neighborhood, including the priest Christian Delorme and the pastor Jean Costil have the idea of a long walk, inspired by Martin Luther King, Jr and Gandhi. These events are at the origin of The March For Equality and Against Racism

Since the late 1980s, major urban renewal programs (mostly building implosions) have transformed the Minguettes neighborhood reducing high population density. Between 1990 and 1999, the district loses more than 2,000 citizens. Today Vénissieux is classified 'ZSP' for Priority Security Zone and still tarnished by his bad reputation because of high crime rate. The district is home of about 22,000 inhabitants. Unemployment affects 40% of youth.

The population of Vénissieux is diverse, result of several waves of successive immigrations with a large community from the Maghreb, Africa, Italy, Spain and Asia.

Transport

The city is situated between two boulevards. From south of the town we can reach the southern urban boulevard and from North we can join the Lyon ring road three doors that overlook the town : the gates of Parilly, Vénissieux center and the Moulin à Vent. The city is also very well served by the various means of transport by the TCL network. The last two, line D of the Lyon metro stations are located on its territory : Parc de Parilly and the gare of Vénissieux, the Lyon's tramway T4 line and three bus lines.

Immigration

In 2008, the immigrant population was 13,846 people with 24% of the population (4.6% born in Europe) and 19.4% born outside Europe, mainly originating from Maghreb

Monuments

Some monuments are really old, like "l'ecole du centre" or "l'école Pasteur". This two monuments were used by the Nazi during the second world War.

Culture

Religion

The city offers a strong socio-educational project with nearly 60 institutions. It offers a favorable school education with a high density of schools throughout the city.

Personalities

Twin towns