Le Blanc-Mesnil

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 century as . This name is a compound of Medieval Latin , meaning 'little houses', from Latin (accusative ), and of Germanic (Old Frankish) meaning 'glossy, shining, white', which gave French ('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 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
Nearest municipalities
Bondy
Aulnay-sous-Bois
Drancy
Le Bourget
Dugny
Bonneuil-en-France in Val d'Oise and Gonesse.
History
Prehistory and Antiquity
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. Shards of gallic ceramic were found.
The Morée and Molette rivers nearby and the existence of an ancient roman road support this theory.
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 Drancy. 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
Parti Socialiste
Union for French Democracy (UDF)
Union for a Popular Movement (UMP)
Groupe des Verts
Politics
Mayors
Transport
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 ), 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.
from Le Bourget airport, from Charles de Gaulle Airport 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 serves as the municipal library.
Environment
Parks and gardens
Jacques-Duclos Park
Vineyards produces , a Chardonnay
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:
Sandwell in the West Midlands region of the United Kingdom,
Peterhof in Russia,
Debre Berhan in Ethiopia,
Beni Douala in Algeria.
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, footballer
Adil Aouchiche, footballer
Amara Baby, footballer
Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, hockey player
Jonathan Biabiany, footballer
Jean-Felix Dorothee, footballer
Abdou Doumbia, footballer
Morgaro Gomis, footballer
Raphaël Guerreiro, footballer
Sylvie Guillem, star dancer at Paris Opera
Patrick Hernandez, famous singer of Born to Be Alive
Mickael Marolany, footballer
Fabien Marsaud, known as Grand Corps Malade, slam poet
Fabrice N'Sakala, footballer
Moussa Sissoko, footballer
Ludovic Sylvestre, footballer
Tristan Valentin, road bicycle racer
Élisabeth Vonarburg, writer of science-fiction
See also
Communes of the Seine-Saint-Denis department
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, 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
Communes of Seine-Saint-Denis