Subprefecture and commune in Île-de-France, France

Saint-Denis ( , French: [sɛ̃d(ə)ni] ⓘ) is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, 🗝 France. It is located 9.4 km (5.8 mi) from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is the second most populated suburb 🗝 of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt), with a population of 113,116 at the 2024 census. It is a subprefecture (French: sous-préfecture) of 🗝 the department of Seine-Saint-Denis, being the seat of the arrondissement of Saint-Denis. It is also part of the Métropole du 🗝 Grand Paris.

Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of the Basilica of Saint-Denis and was also the location of the 🗝 associated abbey. It is also home to France's national football and rugby stadium, the Stade de France, built for the 🗝 1998 FIFA World Cup. Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Inhabitants of Saint-Denis are called 🗝 Dionysiens.[3]

Name [ edit ]

Until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum, probably meaning "estate of 🗝 Catullius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. About 250 AD, the first bishop of Paris, Saint Denis, was martyred on Montmartre hill and 🗝 buried in Catolacus. Shortly after 250 AD, his grave became a shrine and a pilgrimage centre, with the building of 🗝 the Abbey of Saint Denis, and the settlement was renamed Saint-Denis.