The name Le Blanc-Mesnil was recorded for the first time in the 11th century as Mansionile Blaun. This name is a compound of Medieval LatinMansionile, meaning 'little houses', from Latinmansio (accusativemansionem), and of Germanic (Old Frankish) blanch, blaun, meaning 'glossy, shining, white', which gave Frenchblanc ('white') and Englishblank.
The name is interpreted by some as a reference to the houses of Le Blanc-Mesnil which were whitened due to the flour dust coming from the windmills located there in ancient times. One researcher, however, thinks that blanc had also the meaning of 'free' in Old French, and so the name would mean 'free mesnil, free village', perhaps because the villagers had been freed from serfdom. None of these interpretations is certain.
A discovery in 1984 concerning archeological excavation found three polished axes and modified flint attests a human presence in Le Blanc-Mesnil in the Neolithic period and the Gallo-Roman era.[3] Shards of gallic ceramic were found.[4]
The Morée and Molette rivers nearby and the existence of an ancient Roman road support this theory.[5]
French Revolution
On 2 December 1792, a third of the territory of Aulnay was detached and became the commune of Le Blanc-Mesnil.
Heraldry
Arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil
The arms of Le Blanc-Mesnil are blazoned : Azure, a cross engrailed Or, a canton chequy argent and azure, in 2nd and 3rd a hand appaumy, in 4th a drageoir (sweetsdish) Or
Economy
Parc d'activité du Coudray
Zone industrielle de la Molette in Blanc-Mesnil, Bourget and Drancy. It includes Centre Albert Einstein, created in 1987.
Parc Modus
Garonor
Pont-Yblon
Centre d'affaires international Paris Nord II
Carré des Aviateurs
Espace Descartes, for tourism business. Three hotels three stars, a Novotel hotel.[6]
French and international companies
Several French companies have their world headquarters in Blanc-Mesnil, such as Forclum and Sicli.
Population
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1793
120
—
1800
63
−8.79%
1806
83
+4.70%
1821
81
−0.16%
1831
96
+1.71%
1836
109
+2.57%
1841
95
−2.71%
1846
128
+6.14%
1851
119
−1.45%
1856
109
−1.74%
1861
105
−0.74%
1866
138
+5.62%
1872
128
−1.25%
1876
156
+5.07%
1881
166
+1.25%
1886
170
+0.48%
1891
165
−0.60%
1896
170
+0.60%
1901
213
+4.61%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1906
978
+35.64%
1911
1,770
+12.60%
1921
3,932
+8.31%
1926
10,688
+22.14%
1931
19,343
+12.60%
1936
21,660
+2.29%
1946
18,277
−1.68%
1954
25,363
+4.18%
1962
35,708
+4.37%
1968
48,487
+5.23%
1975
49,107
+0.18%
1982
47,037
−0.61%
1990
46,956
−0.02%
1999
46,936
−0.00%
2007
50,910
+1.02%
2012
52,213
+0.51%
2017
56,783
+1.69%
2021
58,257
+0.64%
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1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as pieds-noirs in Northwest 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.
Administration
Political life
The following political parties have a permanent base in Blanc-Mesnil:
Le Blanc-Mesnil is also served by Drancy station on Paris RER line B. This station (formerly called Blanc-Mesnil-Drancy), although administratively located on the territory of the neighboring commune of Drancy, is the closest from the town center of Le Blanc-Mesnil and is thus used by people in Le Blanc-Mesnil.
The bus company provides 17 lines of buses to travel within the city.
Ideally placed at the junction between the A1 and the A3.
2.5 km (1.6 mi) from Le Bourget airport, 7 km (4.3 mi) from Charles de Gaulle Airport and 4.5 km (2.8 mi) from Parc des Expositions de Villepinte, one can easily get to Parc Astérix and Disneyland as well as the centre of Paris and the Stade de France.
The commune has the following schools: four preschools in the south, seven preschools in the centre of town, and six preschools in the north. It has four elementary schools in the south, six elementary schools in the centre, and six elementary schools in the north.[10]
For fifteen years, twinning between le Blanc-Mesnil and Debre Berhan has been based on the development: water sanitation, education, construction of roads. In a rare spirit, that of a collaboration of equal to equal.
