Pantin

Pantin, suburb NE of Paris (1990 pop. 43,553), Seine-Saint-Denis dept., N central France, on the Canal d'Ourcq. There is considerable timber trade through the canal. Pantin, an industrial town, manufactures flour, foundry products, chemicals, cigarettes, and processed foods.

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Pantin

Pantin is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 6.4 km. (4.0 miles) from the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Its post code is 93500.

Pantin was once the site of Motobecane's operations. Pantin was portrayed in the award-winning French movie So Long, Stooge (French title: Tchao Pantin) (1983), starring French comedian Coluche.

Geography

Pantin borders the Paris inner ring road (périphérique) and is traversed by national motorways 2 & 3, as well as the Paris-Strasbourg railway line and the Ourq canal.

Name

The name Pantin was recorded for the first time in 1067 as Pentini, perhaps from the Roman patronym Pentinus, a variant of Pantaenus or Repentinus, but this etymology is not certain.

History

On January 1, 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighboring communes. On that occasion, a small part of the commune of Pantin was annexed to Paris.

On July 24, 1867, a part of the territory of Pantin was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Romainville and a part of the territory of Bagnolet to create the commune of Les Lilas.

By 1875, the Ourq canal and new railway lines served to divide the town into two parts- the "Village" and the "Quatre Chemins".

Future

The recent construction of a science park along the Basin de Villette on the former site of city abattoirs has improved pedestrian access to Paris, as well as encouraging urban regeneration in Pantin itself. A key policy discussed since the 2008 mayoral election has been the possibility of integrating the ten banlieue towns of Bagnolet, Les Lilas, Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Romainville, Pantin, Noisy-le-Sec, Montreuil, Bobigny, Bondy and Rosny-sous-Bois into an "intercommune" of around 440,000 people. This new municipality could be created as early as January 2010.

Demographics

Immigration

Administration

Pantin is divided into two cantons:

The canton of Pantin-Est (East) counts 28,626 inhabitants (57.3%);
The canton of Pantin-Ouest (West) counts 21,293 inhabitants (42.7%).

The current mayor of Pantin is Bertrand Kern of the Partie Socialiste (PS). Kern was recently re-elected for a second 6-year mayoral term.

Transport

Pantin is served by three stations on Paris Metro line 5: Hoche, Église de Pantin, and Bobigny – Pantin – Raymond Queneau.

Pantin is also served by Aubervilliers – Pantin – Quatre Chemins station on Paris Metro line 7.

Pantin is also served by Pantin station on Paris RER line E.

Finally Pantin is served by numerous bus lines (151,152,249,148). Outside the hours of normal public transport the town is served by the N13 and N142 Noctilien night bus services with stops outside the Centre de la Danse, the Mairie and Rue Delizy.