Clichy-sous-Bois is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris. It is located 15 km from central Paris. Clichy-sous-Bois is not served by any motorway, major road, or railway and therefore continues to be one of the most isolated of Paris' inner suburbs. It is one of the most economically disadvantaged suburbs as well and the 2005 civil unrest and riots began there, which subsequently spread nationwide.

Geography

Clichy-sous-Bois has an area of 3.95 km2 with 1.1 km2 of woods. The woods are remnants of the Bondy wood (Forêt Départementale de Bondy, Parc de la Fosse Maussoin, Parc de la Mairie).

History

The name of Clichy-sous-Bois comes from Roman Cleppius, seventh century Clippiacum superius, twelfth century Clichiacum. Flint tools from the Neolithic era have been found there. Clichy en Aulnois belonged to the lords of Livry in the early Middle Ages. Subject to the Knights Templar in the 13th century, Clichy then passed into possession of the Knights Hospitaller order. Until the 16th century, it was a hunting resort of the French kings. In the 18th century, it belonged to the Duc d'Orléans. In 1820, the village had about 150 people. On 20 May 1869, a part of the territory of Clichy-sous-Bois was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Livry-Gargan and a small part of the territory of Gagny to create the commune of Le Raincy. In 1870, Clichy was affected by the Franco-Prussian War.

Heraldry

Crime and civil unrest

Clichy-sous-Bois has a high unemployment rate (about 20%) compared to the rest of the country and 40% for people under 25 years old. The suburban riots of October 2005 originated in Clichy-sous-Bois after the accidental deaths of two local Muslim youths who had been escaping a police control. The riots spread to other communes of the department and then to virtually every major urban area in France.

Demography

the majority of its population is of African heritage. the youth unemployment rate was 40%.

Immigration

33% of the commune's residents were foreign nationals, higher than both the departmental average and the French national average.

Transport

Clichy-sous-Bois is not served directly by any station of the Paris Métro, RER, or suburban rail network. Since 2019, it has been directly served by the T4 Tramway, which connects to the Le Raincy – Villemomble – Montfermeil station on Paris RER line E. Before the opening of the tramway, it was claimed the time needed to travel via public transport to the city centre of Paris is about 1.5 hours. Rail service is expected to directly serve the commune by 2026 with the planned Clichy-Montfermeil station of the under construction Line 16 of the Paris Métro.

Economy

As of 2007 the unemployment rate was around 20%. It was close to 50% in the housing estates which were defined by The Economist as "the worst."

Politics

In 2007, voter turnout for the presidential election in Clichy was 82%.

Education

There are twelve preschool sites, and eleven elementary school sites. there are about 2,500 students in Clichy's four secondary schools. The junior high schools in the commune are: The sole senior high school/sixth form college in Clichy is Lycée Alfred-Nobel. the lycée has 1,100 students. It has an agreement with the Institut d'études politiques de Paris (Sciences-Po) which allows applicants from the school to gain entrance to the university without taking the entrance examination. As of 2007 three students from the lycée were admitted.

Personalities linked to the commune