Cimetière de Pantin, Cemetery in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

The Cimetière parisien de Pantin covers 107.6 hectares in Pantin, Seine-Saint-Denis, divided into 180 divisions of rows of graves. The ground rises in shallow dark-grey stone steps; on the right stands a grey granite slab carved with the inscription "GARDEZ VOTRE DISTANCE VOTRE VIE", beside flat slabs and a rectangular grave edging. A flat weathered slab bears the names Émile, Jules and Fernand Védrines.

The cemetery was established in 1886 as a large green space designed to serve the burial needs of Pantin and surrounding areas. Over time it has expanded into one of the largest cemeteries in France, accumulating graves across more than a century.

Pantin is one of the three Parisian cemeteries extra muros, opened on 15 November 1886, the same day as Bagneux, and the two share an identical entrance gate. In 1918 the 30th division was made a Muslim square for civilians, while soldiers were assigned to the 6th division, and many divisions are reserved for Jewish burials. The flat Vérdines slab records Émile and Jules, killed in 1919, and Fernand, an aviator born at Le Bourget.

The main entrance is on avenue du Cimetière-Parisien, reached by metro line 7 at Fort d'Aubervilliers or Aubervilliers–Pantin–Quatre Chemins, both some distance away. The Porte des Petits Ponts, Porte des Pailleux and Porte de l'Illustration are served by RATP buses, and the Diderot gate is a pedestrian entrance on rue Diderot in Pantin. The grounds cover 107.6 hectares across 180 divisions, so allow time to walk between sections.

Few celebrities are buried here: the cemetery is administratively attached to Paris, so famous families generally choose intramuros sites. Among the oldest divisions are the grave of Marthe Erbelding, an 11-year-old girl murdered in 1907, and the Védrines slab, which commemorates the aviator Jules Védrines, who died in 1919 aged 27, and his brother Fernand, a pilot born at Le Bourget, who died in 1928 aged 29.