As of1 January 2025, following the formal absorption of the neighbouring commune ofPierrefitte‑sur‑Seine, Saint‑Denis is set to becomethe second most populated commune in Île‑de‑France afterParis.
Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of theBasilica of Saint-Denis and was also the location of the associatedabbey.
Saint-Denis is a formerlyindustrial suburb currently changing its economic base. It has been the second most populated commune in Île-de-France after Paris since 1 January 2025, following the absorption ofPierrefitte-sur-Seine to its north, as passed by both municipal councils on 30 May 2024.[3]
Until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement calledCatolacus orCatulliacum, probably meaning "estate of Catullius", aGallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the firstbishop of Paris,Saint Denis, was martyred onMontmartre hill and buried inCatolacus. Shortly after 250 AD, his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of theAbbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis.
In 1793, during theFrench Revolution, under the dictatorship ofRobespierre, Saint-Denis was renamedFranciade in a gesture of rejection of religion. In 1803, however, under theConsulate ofNapoléon Bonaparte, the city reverted to its former name of Saint-Denis.
During its history, Saint-Denis has been closely associated with the French royal house. Starting fromDagobert I (c. 603–639), almost every French king was buried in the Basilica.
However, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was aGallo-Roman village namedCatolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today.Saint Denis, the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about 250 AD and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis' tomb quickly became a place of worship. Around 475 AD,Sainte Geneviève had a small chapel erected on Denis' tomb, which by then had become a popular destination for pilgrims. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery. Dagobert granted many privileges to the monastery: independence from the bishop of Paris,the right to hold a market, and, most importantly, he was buried in Saint-Denis; a tradition which was followed by almost all his successors. During theMiddle Ages, because of the privileges granted by Dagobert, Saint-Denis grew to become very important. Merchants from all overEurope (and indeed from theByzantine Empire) came to visit its market.
In 1140,Abbot Suger, counselor to the King, granted further privileges to the citizens of Saint-Denis. He also started the work of enlarging theBasilica of Saint Denis that still exists today, often cited as the first example of high earlyGothic Architecture.[4][5] The new church was consecrated in 1144.
Saint-Denis was depopulated in theHundred Years' War; of its 10,000 citizens, only 3,000 remained after the war.
KingLouis XIV (1638-1715) started several industries in Saint-Denis: weaving and spinning mills and dyehouses. His successor,Louis XV (1710-1774), whose daughter was a nun in theCarmeliteconvent, took a lively interest in the city: he added a chapel to the convent and also renovated the buildings of the royal abbey.
During the French Revolution, not only was the city renamed "Franciade" from 1793 to 1803, but the royalnecropolis was looted and destroyed. The remains were removed from the tombs and thrown together; during theFrench Restoration, since they could not be sorted out anymore, they were reburied in a commonossuary.
Saint-Denis in 1830
The last king to be interred in Saint-Denis wasLouis XVIII (1755 – 1824). After France became arepublic and anempire, Saint-Denis lost its association with royalty.
On 1 January 1860, the city ofParis was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, the commune ofLa Chapelle-Saint-Denis was disbanded and divided between the city of Paris, Saint-Denis,Saint-Ouen, andAubervilliers. Saint-Denis received the north-western part of La Chapelle-Saint-Denis.
During the 19th century, Saint-Denis became increasingly industrialised. Transport was much improved: in 1824 theCanal Saint-Denis was constructed, linking theCanal de l'Ourcq in the northeast of Paris to the RiverSeine at the level ofL'Île-Saint-Denis, and in 1843 the firstrailway reached Saint-Denis. By the end of the century, there were 80 factories in Saint-Denis.
The presence of so many industries also gave rise to an importantsocialist movement. In 1892, Saint-Denis elected its firstsocialist administration, and by the 1920s, the city had acquired the nickname ofla ville rouge, the red city. UntilJacques Doriot in 1934, allmayors of Saint-Denis were members of theCommunist Party.
After the war, the economic crisis of the 1970s and 1980s hit the city, which was strongly dependent on its heavy industry.
During the 1990s, however, the city started to grow again. The 1998 FIFA World Cup provided an enormous impulse; the main stadium for the tournament, theStade de France, was built in Saint-Denis, along with many infrastructural improvements, such as the extension of themetro to Saint-Denis-Université. The stadium is used by the nationalfootball andrugby teams for friendly matches. TheCoupe de France,Coupe de la Ligue andTop 14 final matches are held there, as well as theMeeting Areva international athletics event.
Rue Gabriel Péri, a pedestrian zone in Saint-Denis, in 2012
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such aspieds-noirs inNorthwest 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.
As of 2008[update] 18.1% of the population of Saint-Denis was Maghrebian.[11] Melissa K. Brynes, author ofFrench Like Us? Municipal Policies and North African Migrants in the Parisian Banlieues, 1945–1975, wrote that in the middle of the 20th century, "few of [the Paris-area communes with North African populations] were as engaged with their migrant communities as the Dionysiens."[12]
Saint-Denis is served byMetro,RER,tram, andTransilien connections. TheSaint-Denis rail station, built in 1846, was formerly the only one in Saint-Denis, but today serves as an interchange station for theTransilien Paris – Nord (Line H) suburban rail line andRER line D. The French rail companySNCF is also based in the town.
Saint-Denis has a comparatively higher crime rate than most surroundingcommunes, with higher rates of robbery, drugs offences and murder.[13]
In 2010 Saint-Denis had the highest rate of violent crime in France with 1,899 violent robberies and 1,031 assaults (an average of six robberies and three assaults per day)[14]
To fight insecurity and delinquency, theMinister of Public SafetyJean-Marc Ayrault increased national police force in the Basilica district and the Landy Nord, classifying them as a Priority Security Zone 'ZSP' since 2012.[15]
In 2014, a total of 14,437 crimes were reported for 110,000 inhabitants.[16][17]
Saint-Denis has 29 public preschools/nursery schools (écoles maternelles).[20] Saint-Denis has 30 public elementary schools (écoles élémentaires), with one of those schools (École Élémentaire Maria Casarès) being an intercommunal school.[21] Saint-Denis has eight public junior high schools (collèges).[22] Saint-Denis has the following senior high schools/sixth-form colleges:Lycée Bartholdi,Lycée Paul Éluard,Lycée Suger, and Lycée d’application de l’E.N.N.A.[23]
The 2018 video gameRed Dead Redemption 2 features a major city named Saint Denis, located in the fictional American state of Lemoyne. The fictional city was based onNew Orleans, and both share a history of being former French territories.
In the 2014 video game 'Assassin's Creed: Unity,' the downloadable content (DLC) titled 'Dead Kings' is set in the town of Saint-Denis, referred to as 'Franciade' in the game. The storyline takes place during the French Revolution and explores the crypts and secrets of Saint-Denis, incorporating its historical and cultural essence into the game.
^Maxwell, Rahsaan Daniel.Tensions and Tradeoffs: Ethnic Minority Migrant Integration in Britain and France.ProQuest, 2008. p.197.ISBN0549874585, 9780549874584.
^Byrnes, Melissa K.French Like Us? Municipal Policies and North African Migrants in the Parisian Banlieues, 1945–1975.ProQuest, 2008.ISBN0549741224, 9780549741220. p.283.
^abGross, Joan, David McMurray, and Ted Swedenburg. "Arab Noise and Ramadan Nights: Rai, Rap, and Franco-Maghrebi Identities" (Anthropology: Postcolonial Studies). In: Lavie, Smadar and Ted Swedenburg.Displacement, Diaspora, and Geographies of Identity.Duke University Press, 1996.ISBN0822317206, 9780822317203. p.142.
