Pantin

Located on the edge of the city of Paris and is mainly formed by a plain crossed by national roadway 2 and 3, the Paris–Strasbourg railway line and the canal de l'Ourcq.

• Name — Pantin • Commune Status — Commune • Arrondissement — Bobigny • Canton — Pantin • Insee — 93055 • Postal Code — 93500 • Mayor — Bertrand Kern • Term — 2026–32 • Intercommunality — Grand Paris • Elevation Min M — 38 • Elevation Max M — 108 • Area Km2 — 5.01

Pantin borders the Paris Boulevard Périphérique, an inner ring road, and is traversed by national routes N2 and N3, as well as the Paris-Strasbourg railway line and the Ourcq canal.

Pantin is an urban commune, as it is one of the dense or intermediate density communes, as defined by the Insee communal density grid. It belongs to the urban unit of Paris, an inter-departmental conurbation comprising 407 communes and 10,785,092 inhabitants in 2017, of which it is a suburban commune. The commune is also part of the functional area of Paris where it is located in the main population and employment centre of the functional area. This area comprises 1,929 communes.

• Illustration — Map of neighbourhoods The main quarters or neighborhoods of the commune are: • Mairie - Hoche • Quatre-Chemins • Petit Pantin - Les Limites • Église • Les Courtillières

Jacqueline Osty, winner of the Grand Prix de l'urbanisme in 2020, designed the 3.5 ha of public spaces on the port site. She has forged a common base, preserving a continuous, mineral spirit, evocative of the port area's past, with a light use of vegetation in the form of long, straight grassed lines and green lounges between the housing developments.

The name Pantin was recorded for the first time in 1067 as Pentini, perhaps from the Roman patronym Pentinus, a variant of Pantaenus or Repentinus, but this etymology is not certain. The first known deed in which the name Penthinum appears is a deed from the 11th century granting the Pantin estate to the Saint-Martin-des-Champs Priory. The name of Pantin is mentioned in the following forms: • Pentinus in 1082; • Pantinum in 1119; • Pentin in 1151-1157; • Pantin in 1256; • Panthino in 1352; • Panthin in 1499; • Penthin in 1520; • Pentin in 1598. In 2023 the name was changed symbolically to Pantine, with an added "e" ending to indicate the feminine form and promote awareness of women's issues.

On 1 January 1860, the city of Paris was enlarged by annexing neighbouring communes. On that occasion, a small part of the commune of Pantin was annexed to Paris. On 24 July 1867, a part of the territory of Pantin was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Romainville and a part of the territory of Bagnolet to create the commune of Les Lilas. By 1875, the Canal de l'Ourcq (Ourcq canal) and new railway lines served to divide the town into two parts—the "Village" and the "Quatre Chemins". The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1886.

The construction of a science park along the Bassin de la Villette on the former site of city abattoirs has improved pedestrian access to Paris, as well as encouraging urban regeneration in Pantin itself. A key policy discussed since the 2008 mayoral election has been the possibility of integrating the ten banlieue towns of Bagnolet, Les Lilas, Le Pré-Saint-Gervais, Romainville, Pantin, Noisy-le-Sec, Montreuil, Bobigny, Bondy and Rosny-sous-Bois into an "intercommune" of around 440,000 people. This new municipality could be created as early as January 2010. This project was implemented, it gathers nine communes. In 2016, Pantin was declared France's most polluted town by the World Health Organization.

• Illustration — Pantin Mills, headquarters of BNP Paribas Securities Services since 2009. Pantin was once the site of Motobecane's operations. 2,000 companies are located in Pantin, including 21 of more than 100 employees. Huge firms are located in the town, like Hermès (580 jobs – upholstery and luxury luggage), Bourjois, Chanel, Gucci, Agnès b., Sergent-Major, Elis (500 jobs – linen rental), Forclum, UTB (400 jobs – public works), Photovista Legrand, BNP Paribas, Boiron, Alliance Healthcare, Vetura, Fabio Lucci... and publishers as computer Software Arkeia Software and MT Software. 3,000 employees of BNP Paribas Securities Services were installed in the historic building Grands Moulins de Pantin at the end of October 2009. Hermès finished an expansion project in the city center. The city has created a "craft center" to "4 Chemins" especially with the House Revel to promote arts jobs. Pantin is home to a hub of non-profit environmental organization, housed since 2014 in the "cité de l'environnement", like Bruitparif, the noise observatory of Île-de-France that monitors the environmental noise in the Paris agglomeration.

Since the French canton reform which came into effect in March 2015, Pantin is part of the canton of Pantin, which also includes the commune Le Pré-Saint-Gervais. The current mayor of Pantin is Bertrand Kern of the Parti Socialiste (PS). Kern was re-elected in 2026 for a fifth 6-year mayoral term.

Pantin is served by three stations on Paris Metro line 5: Hoche, Église de Pantin, and Bobigny–Pantin–Raymond Queneau. Pantin is also served by Aubervilliers–Pantin–Quatre Chemins station on Paris Metro line 7. Pantin is also served by Pantin station on Paris RER line E. Finally Pantin is served by numerous bus lines (151, 152, 249, 148). Outside the hours of normal public transport the town is served by the N13 and N142 Noctilien night bus services with stops outside the Centre de la Danse, the Mairie and Rue Delizy. Pantin is recently served by the tramway 3b (Delphine Seyrig; Elle Fitzerald: Grands Moulins de Pantin).

The commune has 11 preschools, 11 elementary schools (including one specialised school), four public junior high schools, one private junior high school, and three public senior high schools. • Public junior high schools: Jean-Jaurès, Jean-Lolive, Joliot-Curie, and Lavoisier • Private junior high school: Collège Prive Saint-Joseph-la-Salle • Public senior high schools: Lycée Lucie-Aubrac, Lycée Simone-Weil, and Lycée Marcelin-Berthelot • Le Centre national de la Danse(CND) Créé en 1998, est un établissement public entièrement dévolu à la danse, implanté à la fois à Pantin.

• Jean-François Joseph Geffrard de La Motte, count de Sanois, was Lord of Pantin before the Revolution. • Beaumarchais, writer, owned land in Pantin • La Guimard (1743–1816), danser of the Opera • Léon Jouhaux (1879–1954), syndicalist and Nobel Peace • Jean-Marc Mormeck (born in 1972), boxing champion • Faïza Guène (born in 1985), novelist Pantin was the birthplace of: • Jean-Luc Chaignaud (born in 1959), baritone • Pierre Desproges (1939–1988), humorist • Philippe Delorme (born 1960), historian and journalist • Jérôme Guedj (born 1972), politician • André Lagache (1885–1938), racing driver • Gabriel Obertan (born 1989), footballer playing for Levski (Sofia)

Pantin is twin cities with the Modigliani Art Center in Scandicci, a suburb of Florence, Italy, which inaugurated their XXXIV Year Salon of Painting with the Pantin art association, Les Amis des Arts. The Centre national de la danse (CND, or National Dance Center) is an institution sponsored by the French Ministry of Culture. It studies dance in all its aspects, and is located in Pantin. The building is known for being a classic example of Brutalist architecture, and in 2004 was awarded the Prix de l'Équerre d'Argent.

• Catholic church • Islam • Judaism • Macedonian Orthodox church • Reformed church