Arrondissements of Paris

Arrondissement of Paris
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Paris
Cantons	20
Communes	1
Préfecture	Paris
Area¹
• Total	105 km2 (41 sq mi)
Population (1999)
• Total	2,125,246
• Density	20,240/km2 (52,420/sq mi)
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km² as well as the estuaries of rivers.

The city of Paris is divided into twenty arrondissements municipaux administrative districts, more simply referred to as arrondissements (pronounced [aʁɔ̃dismɑ̃] in French). These are not to be confused with departmental arrondissements, which subdivide the 101 French départements. The word "arrondissement", when applied to Paris, refers almost always to the municipal arrondissements listed below. The number of the arrondissement is indicated by the last two digits in most Parisian postal codes (75001 up to 75020).

Description

The twenty arrondissements are arranged in the form of a clockwise spiral, starting in the middle of the city, with the first on the Right Bank (north bank) of the Seine. The French cities of Lyon and Marseille are also subdivided in this way.

Arrondissements of Paris

The list below indicates Right Bank (R) or Left Bank (L) (the islands Île de la Cité and Île Saint-Louis being in the 4e, and partly the 1er, arrondissements):

In French, notably on street signs - the number is often given in Roman numerals for example the Eiffel tower is in the VIIe Arrondissment while Gare de l'est is in the Xe Arrondissment

Arrondissement	Name	Area (in km²)	Population (March 1999 census)	Population (July 2005 estimate)	Density (2005) (inh. per km²)	Peak of population
1st R	Louvre	1.826	16,888	17,700	9,693	before 1861
2nd R	Bourse	0.992	19,585	20,700	20,867	before 1861
3rd R	Temple	1.171	34,248	35,100	29,974	before 1861
4th R	Hôtel-de-Ville	1.601	30,675	28,600	17,864	before 1861
5th L	Panthéon	2.541	58,849	60,600	23,849	1911
6th L	Luxembourg	2.154	44,919	45,200	20,984	1911
7th L	Palais-Bourbon	4.088	56,985	55,400	13,552	1926
8th R	Élysée	3.881	39,314	38,700	9,972	1891
9th R	Opéra	2.179	55,838	58,500	26,847	1901
10th R	Enclos-St-Laurent	2.892	89,612	88,800	30,705	1881
11th R	Popincourt	3.666	149,102	152,500	41,598	1911
12th R	Reuilly	16.324¹ 6.377²	136,591	138,300	21,687²	1962
13th L	Gobelins	7.146	171,533	181,300	25,371	20055
14th L	Observatoire	5.621	132,844	134,700	23,964	1954
15th L	Vaugirard	8.502	225,362	232,400	27,335	1962
16th R	Passy	16.305³ 7.8464	161,773	149,500	19,0544	1962
17th R	Batignolles-Monceau	5.669	160,860	160,300	28,277	1954
18th R	Butte-Montmartre	6.005	184,586	188,700	31,424	1931
19th R	Buttes-Chaumont	6.786	172,730	187,200	27,586	20055
20th R	Ménilmontant	5.984	182,952	191,800	32,052	1936

Notes:
1. With the Bois de Vincennes
2. Without the Bois de Vincennes
3. With the Bois de Boulogne
4. Without the Bois de Boulogne
5. 2005 is the year of the most recent official estimate; population of these arrondissements may still be growing

Each arrondissement is subdivided administratively into four quartiers. Paris thus has eighty quartiers administratifs, each containing a police station. For a table giving the names of the eighty quartiers, see fr:Quartiers administratifs de Paris.

History

Before 1860

Map showing the twelve old arrondissements. The surrounding grey area shows the size of Paris after the expansion in 1860.

On 11 October 1795, Paris was divided into twelve arrondissements. They were numbered from west to east, with numbers 1-9 situated on the Right Bank of the Seine, and 10-12 on the Left Bank.

Each arrondissement was subdivided into four quartiers, which corresponded to the 48 original districts created in 1790.

After 1860

On 1 January 1860, new territory was defined to be within the city by Napoleon III. The previous twelve arrondissements were rearranged with this new territory to become the present twenty.

In references to historical records (where it is important to distinguish between the old and new systems), the old arrondissements are indicated by following the number with the term ancienne ("old") (e.g. 2ème ancienne or 7ème anc.).

See also

• Arrondissement, for other uses of the term.
• Paris districts
• Paris, je t'aime, film composed of five-minute sequences on each arrondissement

External links

• Official Paris website
• Diagrams of each arrondissement showing its quartiers administratifs