| Villiers-le-Bel | |
| Commune Status: | Commune |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason de Villiers-le-Bel.svg |
| Map Size: | 270px |
| Adjustable Map: | Villiers-le-Bel_map.png |
| Map Caption: | Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs |
| Coordinates: | 49.0094°N 2.3911°W |
| Arrondissement: | Sarcelles |
| Canton: | Villiers-le-Bel |
| Intercommunality: | CA Roissy Pays de France |
| Mayor: | Jean-Louis Marsac[1] |
| Term: | 2020 - 2026 |
| Elevation M: | 75 |
| Elevation Min M: | 64 |
| Elevation Max M: | 147 |
| Area Km2: | 7.3 |
| Insee: | 95680 |
| Postal Code: | 95400 |
Villiers-le-Bel (pronounced as /fr/) is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in the northern suburbs of Paris.[2] It is located 17.4km (10.8miles) from the center of Paris.
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.[3] [4] [5] [6]
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.[7]
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.[7] Jean-Louis Marsac, the first deputy mayor, stated that the commune grew without gaining the proper infrastructure.[7]
See 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.[8] [9]
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, 2.5km (01.6miles) from the town center of Villiers-le-Bel.
47% of the commune's population was under the age of 30.
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.[7]
The commune has 30 educational institutions, including 11 preschools and 11 elementary schools along with four junior high schools and a vocational high school.[10] the commune does not have its own general high school/sixth-form college.[7]
Two nearby senior high schools are in Sarcelles, Lycée la tourelle and Lycée Jean Jacques Rousseau.[10] Students attending general high school studies go to J. J. Rousseau.[7]
Area universities:[11]