by Paris began as a small island in the Seine and in the 2000 years or so since, the city has grown out, ring by ring, each annex saying something about the politics and economics of the century, from the first Roman wall to the 1970s. Ring road, the infamous Péripérique. This four-lane road formed the dividing line between Paris “Intra-Muros” and the banlieues (suburbs).
The suburbs include both the more well-heeled comfortable banlieues of the West, as well as the historically working-class suburbs in the north-east of the city, many of which have historically voted Communist (the football team of Saint-Ouen, for example, called The Red Stars).
This corner of the Paris urban area, which is thought to be gloomy, will be the accommodation of the Olympic Village and many top events in 2024. In preparation, there has been a significant regeneration of infrastructure in recent years. The most notable is the ‘Grand Paris Express’, a plan to increase Metro lines in and out of the city, starting with the current northern extension of Metro Line 14, which creates a pleasant and fast connection to the city from Saint- Ouen and reported by next year from Saint-Denis further north. This line is also fully accessible for people with reduced mobility, an area of provision that is often lacking in Paris.
When one considers the relationship of Paris to its suburbs compared to London, for example, the first thing to emphasize is the contrast in size, layout and even attitude when it comes to the relationship between the city and its suburbs.
Thanks to Haussmann’s Second Empire restoration, the 20 arrondissements of Paris inside the ring road look relatively uniform, characterized by six-story sandstone buildings and green details such as street signs, press kiosks and Metro entrances. step foot on the other side of the périphérique and suddenly everything changes.
In Saint-Ouen, for example, you may find tumble-down townhouses, in Pantin to the east, known as the “Brooklyn of Paris” and they are all converted warehouses and bike baths with tarmac, and Saint-Denis is a wonderful place from the wonderful people to the prefab. The suburbs have different postcodes, different administrative structures and their own town halls. In all these senses, they are not real Paris.
But the nearby towns that Parisians call ‘la petite couronne’ (as opposed to “la grande couronne” further out from the centre), are actually quite central, certainly by London standards. Where London’s ring road, the M25, is around 20 miles from the centre, the equivalent distance for the Périphérique is around 4 miles. If you were to superimpose Paris Intra-Muros onto a map of London, it would only cover the center.
Isabella is a Londoner who now lives in Paris with her young family, having recently bought a house in Pantin, the suburb outside the ring road in the 19th arrondissement of Paris. “I find this concept of being a hundred meters from the pirrique, from the official border of Paris, so strange – suddenly the price of the property changes a lot from the price of Paris,” she said.
One of the aims of the pre-Olympic redevelopment is to soften the contrast between city and suburb. Emmanuel Blum is the Managing Director of the tourist office for Plaine Comme, the conurbation that includes the northern suburbs around the corner of the Seine, including Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen, Aubervilliers, Île-Saint-Denis and La Courneuve.
“The area will be one of the biggest beneficiaries of the legacy of the Olympic Games. Thanks to the Games, their living environment and integration in the city of Paris is improving,” he said.
Saint-Denis: the heart of the action
Saint-Denis itself will be one of the major hubs of activity and the site of the Olympic Village. The 80,000-capacity Stade de France will be the venue for the athletic events; it will be connected to the newly built Aquatic Center of the Olympic Games by a new footbridge crossing the A1 Motorway (perhaps not the best view in Paris).
Emmanuel Blum hopes that the Games will give tourists a great opportunity to discover what the town has to offer, both old and new, such as the early Gothic Saint Denis Basilica from the 1100s, as well as exciting cultural projects such as Zone Sensible, verdant. an urban farm set against the backdrop of high-rise towers, where art installations and fine crops are produced – they even work with the likes of Le Meurice and Alain Ducasse, who order his honey from here.
The municipal authority is also working to spruce up the Canal Saint-Denis, the 6 kilometer stretch of water that connects the Canal de l’Ourcq in the 19th arrondissement within Paris to the suburbs.
“There are so many places that I admire, but I have a special affection for the Canal Saint-Denis, where the ‘Art Avenue’ is developing more and more year after year – there are some works of art really great there,” said Blum. “It is also a natural link between Paris and its close suburbs.”
Frances Leech, originally from Hereford but now living and working as a baker at the Boulangerie du Square in the north of Montmartre, spent two years living in Saint-Denis, before recently moving to Saint-Ouen. She is convinced of the charm of the northern suburbs.
“Most of my friends live just outside the ring road now, for the last two years,” she said. Among her favorite spots in the area, she mentions the Ile Saint-Denis, an island in the Seine next to the town of the same name, especially the park there (“it’s really beautiful”), where the people of resting place as you can. also take the “Promenade des Impressionists” to see scenes painted by Paul Sisley.
‘Stratford of Paris’
Saint-Ouen, just south of Saint-Denis, is even closer into Paris proper, just bordering the top of the 18th arrondissement. It is known for its huge flea market, Les Puces de Saint-Ouen, which is open four days a week. It’s a sprawling cacophony of sounds and sights, with items for sale ranging from aftermarket to exquisite antiques.
The traditional vendors’ haunt, known as brocanteurs – La Terrasse des Puces for hearty fried sardines for less than €10 or L’insurgé for seasonal citrus menus and natural wine. In recent years, the northern industrial part of town has been rebranded as “St-Ouen docks” and features an indoor public garden named after a Kenyan environmental activist (La Serre Wangari) and a huge food court, which is about to open . any day now.
Further east you will find industrial Pantin. Traditionally it was “popular” or working-class and ethnically diverse, with large populations of immigrants from Turkey and North Africa. For Isabella, a former Londoner who bought a flat there, it reminds her of Stratford and the area in East London that was developed before the London 2012 Olympics. “Inside our building, there are many creative types. They are the same type of people who were drawn to Hackney Wick and Stratford in London because they were more affordable.”
Many have linked the changes in the area to Magasins Généraux, a former dock warehouse from the 1930s. In 2016 it was given to the renowned advertising agency BETC rent-free on the condition that they invest in the area. Today, visitors can tour the urban farm and cultural space La Cité Fertile, ride a bike along the canal, or have Turkish pastries and tea at Le Serail on the high street.
Concerns about gentrification, and delays
While this is an exciting time for this part of the ‘petite couronne‘, There was no criticism of the rapid development of the area. Apart from more general concerns about gentrification and rising property prices, locals have had to put up with long-term construction sites and the associated noise and disruption.
The French press also reported that the government is coordinating the transfer of homeless people to “temporary regional accommodation facilities” outside the capital to free up beds in lower-end hotels during the Games. This includes groups of immigrants and asylum seekers living homeless in the northern suburbs. Similar outflows were reported before the 2008 Beijing Olympics and the 2016 Games in Rio.
Meanwhile the strike movement whose slogan is “Pas de papiers, pas de JO” (“no papers, no Olympics”) is gaining publicity and publicity for its demands for regulation of working undocumented migrants on Games construction sites.
With reports of delivery delays, many locals also fear that the works will not be completed on time after all the effort. Emmanuel Blum, director of Plaine Commune is confident that will not be the case.
“I have no doubts about our ability to meet the challenge of the Olympic and Paralympic Games. The coming period will be tough, but it is to end with a moment of celebration, exchange and shared enthusiasm. The Games are a unique opportunity to boost the pride of all the people of this area.”
In 2024, this corner of the Paris metropolitan area will certainly be more popular with visitors than ever before. The soon-to-open H Hotels Paris Pleyel, with 697 modern rooms, will be the first of its kind in Saint-Denis, while the longer-established Hotel MOB will offer a boutique option in Saint Ouen. Airbnb, an official sponsor of the Games, is also encouraging residents of the northern suburbs to list their homes.
Paris has sometimes been criticized for being a “museum city”, living from its 20th century glory days and stuck in its ways. Head out to Saint-Denis, Saint-Ouen or Pantin , and you might discover what the next century will be in Paris. Imagine the satisfaction, decades ago, when you can say: “I remember when this was considered a suburb”.
