20th arrondissement of Paris

The 20th arrondissement of Paris (known in French as the XX^e arrondissement de Paris or simply as "le vingtième") is the last of the consecutively numbered arrondissements of the capital city of France. Also known as Ménilmontant (pronounced [menilmɔ̃tɑ̃]) after the Ménilmontant neighbourhood it encompasses in its northwest, it is on the right bank of the River Seine and contains some of the city's most cosmopolitan districts. It covers four quarters: Belleville, Saint-Fargeau, Père-Lachaise and Charonne. In 2019, it had a population of 194,994.

20th arrondissement of Paris
Municipal arrondissement
Mairie du XXe arrondissement
Coat of arms
Location within Paris
Coordinates: 48°51′54″N 2°23′57″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Paris
Commune	Paris
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Éric Pliez (DVG)
Area	5.98 km2 (2.31 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]	187,694
• Density	31,387/km2 (81,290/sq mi)
INSEE code	75120

The 20th arrondissement is internationally best known for its Père Lachaise Cemetery, the world's most-visited cemetery where one can find the tombs of a number of famous people.^[2]

Geography

The quarters of the 20th arrondissement

The land area of this arrondissement is 5.984 km² (2.310 sq mi; 1,479 acres).

The arrondissement consists of four quarters:

• Quartier Belleville (77)
• Quartier Saint-Fargeau (78)
• Quartier Père-Lachaise (79)
• Quartier Charonne (80)

Demographics

The population of Paris's 20th arrondissement peaked in 1936, when it had 208,115 inhabitants. Today it remains very dense in population and business activity with 197,067 inhabitants in 2009 and 54,786 jobs as of the last census in 1999.

Historical population

Year (of French censuses)	Population	Density (inh. per km2)
1872	92,772	15,503
1936 (peak of population)	208,115	34,779
1954	200,208	33,457
1962	199,310	33,307
1968	188,921	31,571
1975	175,795	29,378
1982	171,971	28,738
1990	184,478	30,829
1999	182,952	30,574
2009	197,067	32,954

Immigration

Place of birth of residents of the 20th arrondissement in 1999

Born in metropolitan France	Born outside metropolitan France
74.7%	25.3%
	Born in overseas France	Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth1	EU-15 immigrants2	Non-EU-15 immigrants
	1.9%	4.0%	3.1%	16.3%
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as pieds-noirs in Northwest Africa, followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics. 2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants.

Cityscape

Places of interest

• Parc de Belleville
• Père Lachaise Cemetery
  Containing the tombs of many famous artists: composers (such as Frédéric Chopin and Gioacchino Rossini), writers (including Oscar Wilde, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust), painters (Camille Pissarro, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, and others), musicians (Jim Morrison of The Doors and Edith Piaf among others), and the playwright Molière.
• Church of Saint-Jean-Bosco, Paris. One of the few Art Deco churches in Paris, built 1933–1938. It retains its original Art Deco decoration.
• Saint-Germain de Charonne, Paris. One of the oldest churches in Paris.

& Notre-Dame-des-Otages, Paris. 1930s church with colourful stained glass

Important districts

Quarters of the 20th arrondissement

• Quarter of Belleville
  • Neighbourhood of Ménilmontant
• Quarter of Charonne

Government and infrastructure

The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) has its head office in the arrondissement.^[3]

Media

The humour publication Charlie Hebdo had its head office in the arrondissement.^[4]

Education

Lycée Hélène Boucher

Senior high schools include:

• Lycée Hélène Boucher
• Lycée Maurice-Ravel [fr]
• Lycée Charles-de-Gaulle
• Lycée Beth Yacov
• Lycée Heikhal Menahem Sinaï

Other institutions:

• École Vitruve [fr]