The 20th arrondissement of Paris (known in French as the XX<sup>e</sup> arrondissement de Paris or simply as "le vingtième") is the last of the consecutively numbered arrondissements of the capital city of France. Also known as Ménilmontant () after the Ménilmontant neighbourhood it encompasses in its northwest, it is on the right bank of the River Seine and contains some of the city's most cosmopolitan districts. It covers four quarters: Belleville, Saint-Fargeau, Père-Lachaise and Charonne. In 2019, it had a population of 194,994.

The 20th arrondissement is internationally best known for its Père Lachaise Cemetery, the world's most-visited cemetery where one can find the tombs of a number of famous people, such as Édith Piaf, Jim Morrison and Eugène Delacroix.

Geography

thumb|250px|The quarters of the 20th arrondissement

The land area of this arrondissement is .

The arrondissement consists of four quarters:

  • Quartier Belleville (77)
  • Quartier Saint-Fargeau (78)
  • Quartier Père-Lachaise (79)
  • Quartier Charonne (80)

Demographics

The population of Paris's 20th arrondissement peaked in 1936, when it had 208,115 inhabitants. Today it remains very dense in population and business activity with 197,067 inhabitants in 2009 and 54,786 jobs as of the last census in 1999.

Historical population

{| class="wikitable"

! Year<br />(of French censuses)

! Population

! Density<br />(inh. per km<sup>2</sup>)

|-

| 1872

| 92,772

| 15,503

|-

| 1936

| 208,115

| 34,779

|-

| 1954

| 200,208

| 33,457

|-

| 1962

| 199,310

| 33,307

|-

| 1968

| 188,921

| 31,571

|-

| 1975

| 175,795

| 29,378

|-

| 1982

| 171,971

| 28,738

|-

| 1990

| 184,478

| 30,829

|-

| 1999

| 182,952

| 30,574

|-

| 2009

| 197,067

| 32,954

|}

Immigration

Cityscape

Places of interest

  • Parc de Belleville
  • Père Lachaise Cemetery<br />Containing the tombs of many famous artists: composers (such as Frédéric Chopin and Gioacchino Rossini), writers (including Oscar Wilde, Honoré de Balzac, and Marcel Proust), painters (Camille Pissarro, Jacques-Louis David, Eugène Delacroix, and others), musicians (Jim Morrison of The Doors and Edith Piaf among others), and the playwright Molière.
  • Church of Saint-Jean-Bosco, Paris. One of the few Art Deco churches in Paris, built 1933–1938. It retains its original Art Deco decoration.
  • Saint-Germain de Charonne, Paris. One of the oldest churches in Paris.

& Notre-Dame-des-Otages, Paris. 1930s church with colourful stained glass

Important districts

thumb|Quarters of the 20th arrondissement

  • Quarter of Belleville
  • Neighbourhood of Ménilmontant
  • Quarter of Charonne

Government and infrastructure

The Directorate-General for External Security (DGSE) has its head office in the arrondissement.

Media

The humour publication Charlie Hebdo had its head office in the arrondissement.

Education

thumb|[[Lycée Hélène Boucher (Paris)|Lycée Hélène Boucher]]

Senior high schools include:

  • Lycée Hélène Boucher
  • Lycée Charles-de-Gaulle
  • Lycée Beth Yacov
  • Lycée Heikhal Menahem Sinaï

Other institutions:

  • École Eugène Reisz
  • Collège Jean Perrin

References

  • Joining the Locals In Paris's East – slideshow by The New York Times