Villiers-le-Bel

For other places with the same name, see Villiers (disambiguation).

Villiers-le-Bel (French pronunciation: [vilje lə bɛl] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris.^[3] It is located 17.4 km (10.8 mi) from the center of Paris.

Villiers-le-Bel
Commune
City hall
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Villiers-le-Bel
Villiers-le-Bel Show map of France Villiers-le-Bel Show map of Île-de-France (region)
Coordinates: 49°00′34″N 2°23′28″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Val-d'Oise
Arrondissement	Sarcelles
Canton	Villiers-le-Bel
Intercommunality	CA Roissy Pays de France
Government
• Mayor (2024–2026)	Djida Djalalli-Techtach[1]
Area 1	7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	29,238
• Density	4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	95680 /95400
Elevation	64–147 m (210–482 ft) (avg. 75 m or 246 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

A tragedy occurred in the town in the early evening of March 25, 1818, when a cracked 6,000 pound (2721 kg) bell being removed from a belfry came crashing down, killing approximately 25 onlookers. Workers who remained hanging from collapsed steeple were able to be rescued.^[4][5][6][7]

In the 1950s the commune had about 5,000 residents but it urbanized from 1950 to 1974. As of 2007 the commune had 26,000 people.^[8]

In 2007 the mayor at the time, François Pupponi, stated that the city became a "social ghetto" suffered from planning errors made in the 1950s, as the community did not gain the businesses necessary to support the population.^[8] Jean-Louis Marsac, the first deputy mayor, stated that the commune grew without gaining the proper infrastructure.^[8]

2007 riots

Main article: 2007 Villiers-le-Bel riots

On the night of 25 November 2007, gangs attacked a police station in Villiers-le-Bel, torched cars, and vandalized stores. The violence was prompted by the deaths of two adolescents after a crash between their motorbike and a police patrol car at an intersection. The disturbances spread to neighbouring towns on the night of 26 November. 82 police officers were injured, four of them seriously, by shotgun blasts.^[9][10]

Transport

The Paris Métro, RER, serves through the Villiers-le-Bel - Gonesse - Arnouville station on Paris RER line D. However, this station is located in the neighboring commune of Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, 2.5 km (1.6 mi) from the town center of Villiers-le-Bel.

Population

As of 2017^[update] 47% of the commune's population was under the age of 30.^[11]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 1,633 —     1800 1,350 −2.68% 1806 1,325 −0.31% 1821 1,178 −0.78% 1831 1,209 +0.26% 1836 1,322 +1.80% 1841 1,883 +7.33% 1846 1,979 +1.00% 1851 1,934 −0.46% 1856 1,951 +0.18% 1861 2,132 +1.79% 1866 2,107 −0.24% 1872 1,735 −3.19% 1876 1,968 +3.20% 1881 2,016 +0.48% 1886 1,968 −0.48% 1891 1,649 −3.48% 1896 1,644 −0.06%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 1,723 +0.94% 1906 1,718 −0.06% 1911 1,845 +1.44% 1921 2,377 +2.57% 1926 3,324 +6.94% 1931 4,389 +5.72% 1936 4,351 −0.17% 1946 4,209 −0.33% 1954 4,852 +1.79% 1962 12,797 +12.89% 1968 19,119 +6.92% 1975 21,876 +1.94% 1982 24,808 +1.81% 1990 26,110 +0.64% 1999 26,145 +0.01% 2007 27,091 +0.45% 2012 27,496 +0.30% 2017 27,676 +0.13%
Source: EHESS[12] and INSEE (1968–2017)[11]

Economy

As of 2007^[update] Charles de Gaulle International Airport is the primary employer of the area. Within Villiers-le-Bel itself the largest employers were the Charles-Richet Hospital, the Flopak conditioning company, Gilson medical material company, and public services.^[8]

Education

The commune has 30 educational institutions, including 11 preschools and 11 elementary schools along with four junior high schools and a vocational high school.^[13] As of 2007^[update] the commune does not have its own general high school/sixth-form college.^[8]

• Junior high schools include Collège Léon Blum, Collège Martin Luther King, and Collège Saint Exupéry along with the private Collège privé Saint Didier
• Lycée Mendès France (vocational high school) is in the commune

Two nearby senior high schools are in Sarcelles, Lycée la tourelle and Lycée Jean Jacques Rousseau.^[13] Students attending general high school studies go to J. J. Rousseau.^[8]

Area universities:^[14]

• Université de Cergy-Pontoise
• University of Paris 8
• University of Paris 13

Neighboring communes

• Arnouville-lès-Gonesse
• Bouqueval
• Écouen
• Le Plessis-Gassot
• Gonesse
• Sarcelles

Personalities

• Alexandre Beljame (1842–1906), writer.
• Mickael Citony footballer
• Marie-Laure Delie footballer
• Gaël N’Lundulu footballer
• Yoann Salmier, footballer
• Kevin Vinetot footballer
• Lino rapper
• Mike Maignan footballer

See also

• Communes of the Val-d'Oise department