LE BLANC-MESNIL

'Le Blanc-Mesnil' is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.6 km. (7.8 miles) from the center of Paris.
Le Blanc-Mesnil is twinned with Sandwell in the English West Midlands

Contents

Name

Demographics

Immigration

Transport

External links

Name

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 Latin ''Mansionile'', meaning "little houses", from Latin ''mansio'' (accusative ''mansionem''), and of Germanic (Old Frankish) ''blanch'', ''blaun'', meaning "glossy, shining, white", which gave French ''blanc'' ("white") and English ''blank''.
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.

Demographics

Immigration

Transport

Le Blanc-Mesnil is served by Le Blanc-Mesnil station on Paris RER line B.

External links

★ Official website