12th arrondissement of Paris

The 12th arrondissement of Paris (XIIe arrondissement) is one of the 20 arrondissements of the capital city of France. Situated on the right bank of the River Seine, it is the easternmost arrondissement of Paris, as well as the most expansive in terms of area covered. In 2019, it had a population of 139,297. The 12th arrondissement comprises the Gare de Lyon and Bois de Vincennes. It borders the inner suburbs of Charenton-le-Pont and Saint-Mandé in Val-de-Marne. History It is in the 12th arrondissement that some of the oldest traces of human occupation of the territory now occupied by Paris were found. During the construction of Bercy Village in the 1980s, vestiges of a Neolithic village were discovered (dating from between 4500 and 3800 BC). Subsequent excavations turned up wooden canoes (les pirogues de Bercy), bows and arrows, pottery and bone and stone tools. Some of these objects are now exhibited in the Carnavalet Museum. During the Roman era, the area that is now the 12th arrondissement was a largely uninhabited wetlands fed by streams originating in the surrounding hills. The area was crossed by a Roman road that linked Paris to Chelles and Meaux to the east and to Melun to the southeast.