Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis

History

During its history, Saint-Denis has been closely associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I (c. 603–639), almost every French king was buried in the Basilica.

However, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today. Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 AD and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis' tomb quickly became a place of worship. Around 475 AD, Sainte Geneviève had a small chapel erected on Denis' tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into the Abbey of Saint Denis. Dagobert granted many privileges to the abbey: independence from the bishop of Paris, the right to hold a market, and, most importantly, he was buried in Saint-Denis; a tradition which was followed by almost all his successors. During the Middle Ages, because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all over Europe (and indeed from the Byzantine Empire) came to visit its market.

In 1140, Abbot Suger, counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging the Basilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, often cited as the first example of early Gothic Architecture. The new church was consecrated in 1144.

Saint-Denis was depopulated in the Hundred Years' War; of its 10,000 citizens, only 3,000 remained after the war.

During the French Wars of Religion, the Battle of Saint-Denis was fought between Catholics and Protestants on 10 November 1567. The Protestants were defeated, but the Catholic commander Anne de Montmorency was killed. In 1590, the city surrendered to Henry IV, who converted to Catholicism in 1593 in the abbey of Saint-Denis.

King Louis XIV (1638-1715) started several industries in Saint-Denis: weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor, Louis XV (1710-1774), whose daughter was a nun in the Carmelite convent, took a lively interest in the city: he added a chapel to the convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey.

During the French Revolution, not only was the city renamed "Franciade" from 1793 to 1803, but the royal necropolis was looted and destroyed. The remains were removed from the tombs and thrown together; during the French Restoration, since they could not be sorted out anymore, they were reburied in a common ossuary.

The last king to be interred in Saint-Denis was Louis XVIII (1755 – 1824). After France became a republic and an empire, Saint-Denis lost its association with royalty.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, the commune of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, and Aubervilliers. Saint-Denis received the north-western part of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis.

During the 19th century, Saint-Denis became increasingly industrialised. Transport was much improved: in 1824 the Canal Saint-Denis was constructed, linking the Canal de l'Ourcq in the northeast of Paris to the River Seine at the level of L'Île-Saint-Denis, and in 1843 the first railway reached Saint-Denis. By the end of the century, there were 80 factories in Saint-Denis.

The presence of so many industries also gave rise to an important socialist movement. In 1892, Saint-Denis elected its first socialist administration, and by the 1920s, the city had acquired the nickname of la ville rouge, the red city. Until Jacques Doriot in 1934, all mayors of Saint-Denis were members of the Communist Party.

During the Second World War, after the defeat of France, Saint-Denis was occupied by the Germans on 13 June 1940. There were several acts of sabotage and strikes, most notably on 14 April 1942 at the Hotchkiss factory. After an insurgency which started on 18 August 1944, Saint-Denis was liberated by the 2nd Armored Division (France) on 27 August 1944.

After the war, the economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s hit the city, which was strongly dependent on its heavy industry.

During the 1990s, however, the city started to grow again. The 1998 FIFA World Cup provided an enormous impulse; the main stadium for the tournament, the Stade de France, was built in Saint-Denis, along with many infrastructural improvements, such as the extension of the metro to Saint-Denis-Université. The stadium is used by the national football and rugby teams for friendly matches. The Coupe de France, Coupe de la Ligue and Top 14 final matches are held there, as well as the Meeting Areva international athletics event.

Since 2000, Saint-Denis has worked with seven neighbouring communes (Aubervilliers, Villetaneuse, Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, Épinay-sur-Seine, L'Île-Saint-Denis (since 2003), Stains (since 2003), and La Courneuve (since 2005)) in Plaine Commune.

In 2003, together with Paris, Saint-Denis hosted the second European Social Forum.

On 13–14 November 2015, Saint-Denis was the main location of a series of mass shootings and hostage-takings just outside the Stade de France. On 18 November, a major follow-up raid occurred. Several suspects were killed, including alleged mastermind Abdelhamid Abaaoud.

In 2016, Saint-Denis was one of the host cities of the UEFA European Football Championships, including the opening game.

Heraldry

• Motto: Saint Denys Montjoie!
• The coat of arms are described in Old French by the phrase: Azure semé de lys Or (also known as France ancien).

Population

Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called Dionysiens in French. The population data in the table below refer to the commune of Saint-Denis proper, in its geography at the given years. The 2023 data below do not include Pierrefitte-sur-Seine, absorbed in 2025.

Immigration

Maghrebians

As of 2008 18.1% of the population of Saint-Denis was Maghrebian. Melissa K. Brynes, author of French Like Us? Municipal Policies and North African Migrants in the Parisian Banlieues, 1945–1975, wrote that in the middle of the 20th century, "few of [the Paris-area communes with North African populations] were as engaged with their migrant communities as the Dionysiens."

Transport

Saint-Denis is served by Metro, RER, tram, and Transilien connections. The Saint-Denis rail station, built in 1846, was formerly the only one in Saint-Denis, but today serves as an interchange station for the Transilien Paris – Nord (Line H) suburban rail line and RER line D. The French rail company SNCF is also based in the town.

Paris Métro Line 12:

• Front Populaire

Paris Métro Line 13:

• Carrefour Pleyel
• Saint-Denis - Porte de Paris (closest Metro station to the Stade de France)
• Basilique de Saint-Denis (in the centre of town, near the Saint Denis Basilica)
• Saint-Denis – Université

Paris Métro Line 14

• Saint-Denis Pleyel

Tramways in Île-de-France:

• T1: Asnières-Gennevilliers – Noisy-le-Sec:
• T5: Saint-Denis – Garges-Sarcelles
• T8: Saint-Denis – Épinay-sur-Seine / Villetaneuse

Regional Rail:

• La Plaine – Stade de France: RER line B
• Stade de France – Saint-Denis: RER line D
• Saint-Denis:
  • Transilien Paris – Nord (Line H) suburban rail line.
  • RER Line D

Crime

Saint-Denis has a comparatively higher crime rate than most surrounding communes, with higher rates of robbery, drugs offences and murder.

In 2010 Saint-Denis had the highest rate of violent crime in France with 1,899 violent robberies and 1,031 assaults (an average of six robberies and three assaults per day)

To fight insecurity and delinquency, the Minister of Public Safety Jean-Marc Ayrault increased national police force in the Basilica district and the Landy Nord, classifying them as a Priority Security Zone 'ZSP' since 2012.

In 2014, a total of 14,437 crimes were reported for 110,000 inhabitants.

Saint-Denis made international headlines for violent disorder before and after the 2022 UEFA Champions League Final, in which fans of visiting football team Liverpool F.C. were attacked by police before the game and by groups of local youths after the game, with the chaos becoming an issue in the 2022 French legislative election.

Education

Saint-Denis has 29 public preschools/nursery schools (écoles maternelles). Saint-Denis has 30 public elementary schools (écoles élémentaires), with one of those schools (École Élémentaire Maria Casarès) being an intercommunal school. Saint-Denis has eight public junior high schools (collèges). Saint-Denis has the following senior high schools/sixth-form colleges: Lycée Bartholdi, Lycée Paul Éluard, Lycée Suger, and Lycée d'application de l'E.N.N.A.

Saint-Denis has one private elementary, middle, and high school (Ensemble Scolaire Jean-Baptiste de la Salle-Notre Dame de la Compassion) and one private middle and high school (Collège et lycée Saint-Vincent-de-Paul).

Notable people

• Nakibou Aboubakari, footballer
• Sami Ameziane, humourist (Comte de Bouderbala)
• Jean-Christophe Bahebeck, footballer
• Paule Baudouin, handball player
• Vincent Belorgey, DJ
• Maurice Beyina, basketball player
• Thievy Bifouma, footballer
• Ernest Cadine, athlete
• Franck Chantalou, karateka
• Vincent Clarico, athlete
• Angelo Debarre, musician
• Pierre Degeyter, composer
• Charles Dezobry, author
• Paul Éluard, poet
• Auguste Gillot, mayor
• Jean-Marc Grava, athlete
• Auriol Guillaume, footballer
• Abdelaziz Kamara, footballer
• Jonathan Kodjia, footballer
• Moussa Koita, footballer
• Albert Lebourg, painter
• L.E.J, musical trio
• Loic Lumbilla, footballer
• Rosere Manguelle, footballer
• Pierre Michelot, bassist
• Claude Monet, painter
• Louis-Gabriel Moreau, painter
• Astride N'Gouan, handball player
• Rodrigue Nordin, athlete
• Sabrina Ouazani, actress
• Francisque Poulbot, illustrator
• Barbara Pravi, singer-songwriter
• Michael Raffaelli, painter
• Soukeina Sagna, handball player
• Yannis Salibur, footballer
• Kool Shen, rapper (Suprême NTM)
• Paul Signac, painter
• William Soliman, basketball player
• Joey Starr, rapper (Suprême NTM)
• Brahim Thiam, footballer
• Alassane Touré, footballer
• Alioune Touré, footballer
• Maurice Utrillo, painter
• Anne Vernon, actress
• Sofiane Zermani, musician

Points of interest

• Basilica of Saint-Denis, a 12th-century church, burial place of kings of France
• Stade de France, the national stadium of France
• Cité du Cinéma, film studios founded by Luc Besson.
• The Hôtel de Ville, completed in 1883

Twin towns – sister cities

Saint-Denis is twinned with:

• Córdoba, Andalusia, Spain
• Gera, Thuringia, Germany
• Tiznit, Morocco
• Coatbridge, North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom
• Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil
• Sesto San Giovanni, Lombardy, Italy
• Tuzla, Bosnia and Herzegovina
• Nazareth, Israel

In popular culture

The 2018 video game Red Dead Redemption 2 features a major city named Saint Denis, located in the fictional American state of Lemoyne. The fictional city was based on New Orleans, and both share a history of being former French territories.

In the 2014 video game 'Assassin's Creed: Unity,' the downloadable content (DLC) titled 'Dead Kings' is set in the town of Saint-Denis, referred to as 'Franciade' in the game. The storyline takes place during the French Revolution and explores the crypts and secrets of Saint-Denis, incorporating its historical and cultural essence into the game.