Villiers-le-Bel 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 | |
---|---|
Location of Villiers-le-Bel .mw-parser-output .locmap .od{position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .id{position:absolute;line-height:0}.mw-parser-output .locmap .l0{font-size:0;position:absolute}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv{line-height:110%;position:absolute;text-align:center}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr{line-height:110%;position:absolute;top:-0.75em;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pv>div{display:inline;padding:1px}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pl>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:right}.mw-parser-output .locmap .pr>div{display:inline;padding:1px;float:left} Villiers-le-Bel Villiers-le-Bel | |
Coordinates: 49°00′34″N 2°23′28″E / 49.0094°N 2.3911°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 (2020–2026) | Jean-Louis Marsac[1] |
Area 1 | 7.3 km2 (2.8 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 28,836 |
• 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. |
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]
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]
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.
As of 2017[update] 47% of the commune's population was under the age of 30.[11]
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source: EHESS[12] and INSEE (1968-2017)[11] |
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]
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]
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]
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) () ""Nous avons grandi à la vitesse d'une ville nouvelle, souligne Jean-Louis Marsac (PS), premier adjoint au maire." and "Pour François Pupponi, maire (PS) de Sarcelles,[...] privait la commune de taxe professionnelle.""