It is located 9. Saint-Denis is the second most populated suburb of Paris after Boulogne-Billancourt , with a population of , at the census.
Saint-Denis is home to the royal necropolis of the Basilica of Saint-Denis and was also the location of the associated abbey. The stadium also hosted the rugby and athletics events, along with the closing ceremony , for the Summer Olympics.
Saint-Denis is a formerly industrial suburb currently changing its economic base. Until the 3rd century, Saint-Denis was a small settlement called Catolacus or Catulliacum , probably meaning "estate of Catullius", a Gallo-Roman landowner. Shortly after 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. In , during the French Revolution , under the dictatorship of Robespierre, Saint-Denis was renamed Franciade in a gesture of rejection of religion.
During its history, Saint-Denis has been closely associated with the French royal house. Starting from Dagobert I c. However, Saint-Denis is older than that. In the 2nd century, there was a Gallo-Roman village named Catolacus on the location that Saint-Denis occupies today.
Saint Denis , the first bishop of Paris and patron saint of France, was martyred in about AD and buried in the cemetery of Catolacus. Denis' tomb quickly became a place of worship. It was this chapel that Dagobert I had rebuilt and turned into a royal monastery. Dagobert granted many privileges to the monastery: independence from the bishop of Paris, the right to hold a market , and, most importantly, he was buried in Saint-Denis; a tradition which was followed by almost all his successors.
