Vénissieux (French pronunciation: [venisjø] ^ⓘ; Arpitan: Veniciô or Vènissiœx in the Lyonnais dialect) is a commune in the Metropolis of Lyon in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region in eastern France.

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Vénissieux
Commune
Sunset over Vénissieux
Coat of arms
Location of Vénissieux
Vénissieux Show map of France Vénissieux Show map of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Coordinates: 45°41′52″N 4°53′12″E
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Metropolis	Lyon Metropolis
Arrondissement	Lyon
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Michèle Picard[1] (PCF)
Area 1	15.33 km2 (5.92 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	66,363
• Density	4,300/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	69259 /69200
Elevation	171–229 m (561–751 ft) (avg. 186 m or 610 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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Vénissieux is located on the southern outskirts of Lyon. The name Vénissieux derives from Latin Viniciacum, itself crafted upon a Roman villa landlord named Vinicius. Inhabitants are called "Vénissians".^{[citation needed]}

Vénissieux was part of Nazi-occupied France during World War II. In May 1944, the Allies bombed the Nazi-held factories in the area, with a focus on Berliet factories. On 2 September 1944, Vénissieux was liberated by the Allies.

Riots in September 1981, occurring particularly in the Vénissieux neighborhood of Les Minguettes, were some of the first of their kind in suburban neighborhoods in France. In the summer of 1983, riots again occurred in Les Minguettes, attracting significant media attention, and marked the first time cars were burned as a protest in France. France was experiencing a wave of racist crimes, particularly perpetrated against African immigrants from the Maghreb, particularly the former colony of French Algeria (independent Algeria since 1962). On 21 March 1983, a police raid led to violent confrontation between a group of young people of Les Minguettes and the police. Demanding the end to police intimidation, a hunger strike began. On 21 June 1983, during a police raid, a police officer shot and seriously injured Toumi Djaïdja, the young president of the association SOS Avenir Minguettes.^[3][4][5]

In response, the idea of a nonviolent march emerged in order to attempt to reduce tensions between the police and the youth of Les Minguettes. Priest Christian Delorme and pastor Jean Costil organized an extended, non-violent march, inspired by Reverend Martin Luther King Jr.'s demonstrations calling for the end of segregation in the United States and those of Mahatma Gandhi for Indian independence from the United Kingdom. They demanded equal rights, and an end to injustice and social inequality.^[6] The March for Equality and Against Racism grew into a series of events across France through the remainder of 1983. Starting in the late 1980s, major urban renewal programs began transforming the Minguettes neighborhood, replacing old and crowded buildings and reducing high population density; between 1990 and 1999, the district's population declined by more than 2,000. Today, Vénissieux is classified 'ZSP' for Priority Security Zone and tarnished due to its high crime rate. The district is home of about 22,000 inhabitants. Unemployment affects 40% of youth.^{[citation needed]}

The city is situated between two boulevards. From south of the town the southern urban boulevard can be reached and from the north the Lyon ring road three exits that overlook the town can be joined : the exits of Parilly, Vénissieux center and the Moulin à Vent. The city is also very well served by the various means of transport by the TCL network. The last two, line D of the Lyon metro stations are located on its territory : Parc de Parilly and the railway station of Vénissieux, the Lyon's tramway T4 line and three bus lines. Vénissieux station has rail connections to Lyon and Saint-André-le-Gaz.

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Vénissieux proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Vénissieux ceded the commune of Saint-Fons in 1888.^[7]

More information Year, Pop. ...

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 2,118 —     1800 1,967 −1.05% 1806 1,958 −0.08% 1821 2,370 +1.28% 1831 2,714 +1.36% 1836 3,021 +2.17% 1841 3,078 +0.37% 1846 3,176 +0.63% 1851 3,338 +1.00% 1856 3,681 +1.98% 1861 3,820 +0.74% 1866 4,411 +2.92% 1872 4,750 +1.24% 1876 5,224 +2.41% 1881 5,355 +0.50% 1886 5,884 +1.90% 1891 3,502 −9.86% 1896 3,394 −0.62%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,867 +2.64% 1906 4,417 +2.70% 1911 4,939 +2.26% 1921 8,050 +5.01% 1926 11,506 +7.41% 1931 16,157 +7.03% 1936 16,337 +0.22% 1946 15,283 −0.66% 1954 20,374 +3.66% 1962 29,040 +4.53% 1968 47,613 +8.59% 1975 74,347 +6.57% 1982 64,804 −1.94% 1990 60,444 −0.87% 1999 56,061 −0.83% 2007 62,529 +1.37% 2012 62,592 +0.02% 2017 68,183 +1.73%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[7] and INSEE (1968-2017)[8]

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• Cinema Gérard-Philippe
• Music school Jean-Wiener
• Médiathèques Lucie-Aubrac, Robert-Desnos, Anatole-France, La Pyramide (neighborhood libraries)

• Étienne Bally (1923–2018), athlete
• Florence Foresti (born 1973), comedian and actress
• Joseph-Désiré Job (born 1977), footballer
• Samuel Dumoulin (born 1980), cyclist
• Joris Jehan (born 1989), footballer
• Amel Majri (born 1993), footballer, lives here
• Farès Ziam (born 1997), mixed martial artist

Vénissieux is twinned with:^[9]

• Manises, Spain
• Oschatz, Germany

• Communes of the Metropolis of Lyon