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Les Lilas (Municipality, Seine-Saint-Denis, France)

Presentation of Les Lilas
Former flag of Les Lilas

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Presentation of Les Lilas

Les Lilas (23,262 inhabitants, 126 ha) is a commune in the northeastern inner suburbs of Paris, on the Belleville hill. Within its boundaries lies the highest point in Seine-Saint-Denis, at 131 meters.

Les Lilas owes its name to the flower gardens that once covered the hill on which the town was established. The town grew up in the Bois de Romainville, also known as the Bois des Boulleaux, a recreational area for residents of eastern Paris in the early 19th century. This woodland was cleared starting in the 1830s to build houses along bridle paths radiating from the roundabout. To the north, the Fort de Romainville was built between 1844 and 1848 on the grounds of the Marquise de Montesson's château. The land in the western part of the woods was subdivided around 1850 for wealthy residents. These new inhabitants petitioned for the creation of an independent municipality.
The commune of Les Lilas was created on July 24, 1867, on the subdivided land of this wood and the surrounding territories: - one-third of the territory of Romainville, including the fort, - the part of the territory of Pantin west of the Romainville fort, - northern part of the territory of Bagnolet.

Les Lilas is served by Mairie des Lilas and Serge Gainsbourg stations on Line 11 of the Paris Métro. Les Lilas is known for the 1958 hit song by Serge Gainsbourg, "Le Poinçonneur des Lilas", about a ticket puncher at the Porte des Lilas Métro station. This Métro station is actually in Paris, one stop away from the Mairie des Lilas Métro station which is in Les Lilas.

The arms of Les Lilas are blazoned:
Or fretty vert, semy (in the spaces) of lilacs proper.

Olivier Touzeau, 10 December 2025

Former flag and banner of Les Lilas

Former flag and banner of Les Lilas - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 10 December 2025

No flag recently observed.

According to our late friend Pascal Vagnat (website), the former flag of Les Lilas was a banner of arms. It has been used by the town hall since 1967 during local festivals.
Source: Archives of the vexillologist Lucien Philippe † and communication from the head of technical services to Lucien Philippe, dated September 28, 1992.

A vertical forked banner was also in use in Les Lilas. It consisted of three vertical stripes: blue, white with three lilac blossoms, and red. It is based on the French flag and the town's former coat of arms and is also used during festivals.
Source: Archives of the vexillologist Lucien Philippe † and communication from the head of technical services to Lucien Philippe, dated September 28, 1992.

Olivier Touzeau, 10 December 2025