La Courneuve

French commune
nomcommune=La Courneuve
Town hall of La Courneuve

---

mapcaption=Paris and inner ring départements
lat_long=coord|48|55|56|N|2|23|48|E|region:FR_type:city| région=Île-de-France
département=Seine-Saint-Denis| arrondissement=Saint-Denis
canton=La Courneuve
insee=93027
cp=93 120|maire=Gilles Poux of the French Communist Party
mandat=
intercomm=Communauté
d'agglomération
Plaine Commune
alt moy=40m |alt mini=29m |alt maxi=60
km²=7.52|sans=
37,400
35,310|date-sans=July 1, 2005 estimate)
(March 8, 1999 census
dens=4,973|date-dens=2005

La Courneuve is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 8.3 km. (5.2 miles) from the center of Paris. It is known for its large zones of high-rise public housing buildings, inhabited mostly by immigrants and their descendants.

History

The history of La Courneuve begins as the rest of the region with the invasion of European tribes and the eventual conquering of the area by the Romans. During the Middle Ages, the area was like many small villages. With its proximity to Paris, the country area became a fashionable country destination, with a number of gentry residing there and 2 notable châteaus, Sainte-Foi and Poitronville. Towards the end of Napoleon's reign, the entire area experienced large population growth,this along with improved methods of farming eventually had area become the major legume producer for the Paris region.

1863 was the year of the first major industrial enterprise, and the city would soon become a strange mix of mass producing factories side by side with farmlands, industrial estates juxtaposed against bean plantations and that would continue until after World War II. During the 1960s, as Paris could no longer meet the demands of a further exploding population (largely the result of immigration from former colonies), La Courneuve, like the most other suburbs of Paris, was designated as one of the "zones à urbaniser en priorité" (areas to be urbanized quickly) and was built up at a very rapid pace, with the construction of large tower blocks and other HLM developments. Between 1962 and 1968 the population nearly doubled.

Today the area is one of the most deprived in the country, and is attempting to revitalize itself. The city is plagued by crime and was the scene of the accidental shooting of a young boy in 2005, prompting national outcry, and upon visiting in June 2005, Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, vowed to clean out La Courneuve "with a Kärcher (high water pressure cleaner)". La Courneuve was also an area heavily affected by the riots of November 2005. The city has earned itself a reputation as a crime riden, desolate ghetto, and the local authority is in the course of implementing what it says will be far reaching projects and reforms for the city's economy and civil society. One of the largest housing projects is called " Les 4000" (meaning " the 4000"). It has one of the highest crime rate in the developed countries.Fact|date=June 2007

Demographics

Immigration

France immigration
collectivity_name=La Courneuve
census_year=1999
metropolitan_France=62.6
outside_metropolitan_France=37.4
overseas_France=3.1
foreign_French=3.5
EU-15=4.1
non-EU-15=26.7

Rap and Hip-Hop Influence

La Courneuve has a very widely spread musical influence mainly involving rap and Hip-Hop.One of the well known Rappers From la Courneuve is Alibi Montana.Other rappers From La Courneuve are known to be : Alino , Korozeef , Zone and Kheimer.

Drugs And Prostitution

La Courneuve has often suffered from its drug and prostitution plague. The City estimates that there is an approximate amount ranging from 300 to 500 kilograms of haschish being imported to La Courneuve's HLM projects yearly. Prostitution is seen in many parts of the city and has often brought heroin problems.The authorities are trying to bring down the drug dealers and importers that mainly come from the north of the African continent.

Transport

La Courneuve is served by La Courneuve – 8 Mai 1945 station on Paris Métro Line 7 and by La Courneuve – Aubervilliers station on Paris RER line B.

ources

*fr icon [http://www.ville-la-courneuve.fr/7_ville_bref/histoire_patrim/histoire_patrim.html/Official Un peu d'histoire. 07 Feb. 2006. La Ville de La Courneuve]
* [http://cjc-online.ca/viewarticle.php?id=719&layout=html/ Mayol, Pierre. "The Policy of the City and Cultural Action". Canadian Journal of Communication Vol. 27, No. 2 (2002)]
*fr icon [http://www.lemonde.fr/cgi-bin/ACHATS/acheter.cgi?offre=ARCHIVES&type_item=ART_ARCH_30J&objet_id=907720/ Van Renterghem, Marion. "La Courneuve, « Rebeus » et « Renois » disent la vie des « 4000 »." Le Monde, 1 July 2005]

External links

* [http://www.ville-la-courneuve.fr/ Official site]