Through Ile de France editorial staff
Published on
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Paris has not always been shared in twenty districts. Divided into twelve from 1795, the capital has known its current structure since 1860. But today, who can claim to be the greatest? It all depends on the criteria taken into account …
Paris expands its borders
Originally, there were nine arrondissements on the Right Bank and three on the Left Bank, the size of which varied considerably.
Prefect of the Seine since 1853, Baron Haussmann was worried about the traffic jams of cars and riders who flock to the Bois de Boulogne every day. He then thought of annexing land in Passy and Neuilly to enlarge the Place de l’Étoile and move the grant to Porte Maillot.
For his part, Napoleon III, marked by his London youth, dreamed of a “Greater Paris” which would encompass not only the entire Seine department but also the municipalities of Meudon and Sèvres. To this end, he created a commission chaired by Count Henri Siméon. Its report foreshadows the territorial reorganization of the capital.
Finally, the law of June 16, 1859 extended the area of Paris despite the opposition of certain neighboring municipalities. The capital thus grew by 4,365 hectares and increased from 3,438 hectares in 1859 to 7,802 hectares in 1860.
The Bois de Vincennes and Boulogne make the difference
Essentially, the Parisian arrondissements have not changed since 1860. Only the limits of the outer arrondissements have been extended outside the walls at the same time as the extension of the capital. Paris reached its current limits in 1954. Since that date, its surface area has risen to 10,540 hectares.
But which is the biggest? There is no one answer. It all depends on whether or not we include the woods of Boulogne and Vincennes integrated into Paris at the end of the 1920s. Without these, the one with the largest surface area is the 15th arrondissement with 848 hectares in front of the 16th arrondissement (791 hectares). The 15th arrondissement is also the most populous with 233,855 inhabitants.
With the Bois de Boulogne and Vincennes, which represent 1,800 hectares of forest to the west and east of Paris, the situation inevitably changes and the 12th and 16th arrondissements then find themselves shoulder to shoulder with 1,632 hectares and 1,637 hectares respectively. .
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