Seine-Saint-Denis

Seine-Saint-Denis
Coat of Arms of Seine-Saint-Denis
Location
Administration
Department number:	93
Region:	Île-de-France
Prefecture:	Bobigny
Subprefectures:	Le Raincy Saint-Denis
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	40
Communes:	40
President of the General Council:	Claude Bartolone PS
Statistics
Population	Ranked 6th
-Jan 1, 2006 estimate  -March 8, 1999 census	1,491,970 1,382,861
Population density:	6,292/km2
Land area¹:	236 km2
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2.

Seine-Saint-Denis is a French department located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "neuf-trois" (i.e. "nine-three"), after the official administrative number of the department, 93. The inhabitants are called Sequano-Dyonisians

Geography

Seine-Saint-Denis is located to the north-east of Paris. It has a surface area of only 236 km², making it one of the smallest departments in France. Seine-Saint-Denis and two other small departments, Hauts-de-Seine and Val-de-Marne, form a ring around Paris, known as the petite couronne ("little crown"). They form, together with four other departments, the region of Île-de-France.

Administration

Seine-Saint-Denis is made up of 3 departmental arrondissements and 40 communes:

History

Seine-Saint-Denis was largely part of the Seine department until 1964. It has a history as a veritable left-wing stronghold, belonging to the ceinture rouge of Paris. The French Communist Party especially has maintained a continued strong presence in the department, and still controls the city councils in cities such as Saint-Denis, Aubervilliers, Bobigny, and La Courneuve. Seine-Saint-Denis is the only department where the Communist Party has a majority in the general council. A commune of Seine-Saint-Denis, Clichy-sous-Bois, was the scene of the death of two youths which sparked the nationwide riots of autumn 2005. In October - November, 9,000 cars were burned and 3,000 rioters were arrested.

Demographics

Seine-Saint-Denis is the French department with the highest proportion of immigrants: 21.7% at the 1999 census (see table below). This figure does not include the children of immigrants born on French soil as well as some native elites from former French colonies and people who came from overseas France. The ratio of ethnic minorities is difficult to estimate accurately as French law prohibits the collection of ethnic data for census taking purposes. However estimates suggest there are 500,000 Muslims out of a total population of 1.4 million. Saint-Denis is home to the Union of French Islamic Organizations (UOIF) in the Bourget district, which annually hosts one of Europe's major Muslim conferences, Paris-le-Bourget.

Place of birth of residents

Culture

A number of hip hop artists come from the Seine-Saint-Denis, including one of the first major hip-hop groups in France, NTM, as well as more recent acts such as Tandem.

Miscellaneous topics

Seine-Saint-Denis was scheduled to be the site of a 2004 International Exhibition. However this event was cancelled.

External links

• (French) Website of the General council
• (French) Prefecture website

Coordinates: 48°54′N 02°29′E / 48.9°N 2.483°E / 48.9; 2.483