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Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, in
French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France and r ...
. On the river
Deûle The Deûle (; nl, Deule) is a river of northern France which is channeled for the main part of its course (from Lens to Lille). The upstream part is still partly free-flowing and is known as the Souchez. The Deûle flows into the Lys (right ban ...
, near France's border with
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
, it is the capital of the
Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
, the
prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin ''Praefectura'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain international ...
of the
Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...
department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille. The city of Lille proper had a population of 234,475 in 2019 within its small municipal territory of , but together with its French
suburb A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
s and
exurb An exurb (or alternately: exurban area) is an area outside the typically denser inner suburban area, at the edge of a metropolitan area, which has some economic and commuting connection to the metro area, low housing density, and growth. It s ...
s the Lille
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
(French part only), which extends over , had a population of 1,510,079 that same year (Jan. 2019 census), the fourth most populated in France after
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
,
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
, and
Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
. The city of Lille and 94 suburban French municipalities have formed since 2015 the European Metropolis of Lille, an
indirectly elected An indirect election or ''hierarchical voting'' is an election in which voters do not choose directly among candidates or parties for an office (direct voting system), but elect people who in turn choose candidates or parties. It is one of the old ...
metropolitan authority now in charge of wider metropolitan issues, with a population of 1,179,050 at the Jan. 2019 census. More broadly, Lille belongs to a vast
conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...
formed with the
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
cities of
Mouscron Mouscron (; Dutch and vls, Moeskroen, ; Picard and Walloon: ''Moucron'') is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the Belgian province of Hainaut, along the border with the French city of Tourcoing, which is part of the Lille metropoli ...
,
Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian City status in Belgium, city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Regio ...
,
Tournai Tournai or Tournay ( ; ; nl, Doornik ; pcd, Tornai; wa, Tornè ; la, Tornacum) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies southwest of Brussels on the river Scheldt. Tournai is part of Euromet ...
and Menin, which gave birth in January 2008 to the
Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai Eurometropolis Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai is a transborder agglomeration in Europe around the French city of Lille, and the Belgian cities Kortrijk and Tournai. It covers the local regions Lille Métropole, south-eastern West Flanders ) , sett ...
, the first European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation (EGTC), which has more than 2.1 million inhabitants. Nicknamed in France the "Capital of Flanders", Lille and its surroundings belong to the historical region of
Romance Flanders Romance Flanders or Gallicant Flanders is a historical term for the part of the County of Flanders in which Romance languages were spoken, such as varieties of Picard. Today the region straddles the border of France and Belgium. Name In Early Mod ...
, a former territory of the county of
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
that is not part of the linguistic area of
West Flanders ) , settlement_type = Province of Belgium , image_flag = Flag of West Flanders.svg , flag_size = , image_shield = Wapen van West-Vlaanderen.svg , shield_size = , image_map ...
. A garrison town (as evidenced by its Citadel), Lille has had an eventful history from the
Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...
to the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
. Very often besieged during its history, it belonged successively to the
Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
, the
Burgundian State The Burgundian StateB. Schnerb, ''L'État bourguignon'', 1999 (french: État bourguignon; nl, Bourgondische Rijk) is a concept coined by historians to describe the vast complex of territories that is also referred to as Valois Burgundy. It de ...
, the
Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...
of Germany and the
Spanish Netherlands Spanish Netherlands (Spanish: Países Bajos Españoles; Dutch: Spaanse Nederlanden; French: Pays-Bas espagnols; German: Spanische Niederlande.) (historically in Spanish: ''Flandes'', the name "Flanders" was used as a ''pars pro toto'') was the Ha ...
before being definitively attached to the France of
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
following the
War of Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
along with the entire territory making up the historic province of
French Flanders French Flanders (french: La Flandre française) is a part of the historical County of Flanders in present-day France where a dialect of Dutch was or still is traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day region of Hauts-de-France and r ...
. Lille was again under siege in 1792 during the
Franco-Austrian War The Second Italian War of Independence, also called the Franco-Austrian War, the Austro-Sardinian War or Italian War of 1859 ( it, Seconda guerra d'indipendenza italiana; french: Campagne d'Italie), was fought by the Second French Empire and t ...
, and in 1914 and 1940. It was severely tested by the two
world war A world war is an international conflict which involves all or most of the world's major powers. Conventionally, the term is reserved for two major international conflicts that occurred during the first half of the 20th century, World WarI (1914 ...
s of the 20th century during which it was occupied and suffered destruction. A merchant city since its origins and a manufacturing city since the 16th century, the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
made it a great industrial capital, mainly around the
textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...
and mechanical industries. Their decline, from the 1960s onwards, led to a long period of crisis and it was not until the 1990s that the conversion to the
tertiary sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
and the rehabilitation of the disaster-stricken districts gave the city a different face. Today, the historic center, Old Lille, is characterized by its 17th-century red brick town houses, its paved pedestrian streets and its central Grand'Place. The belfry of the
Hôtel de ville de Lille The Hôtel de ville de Lille (English: Lille Town Hall) is a municipal building in Lille, France. Built between 1924 and 1932 in Art Deco style of Flemish neo-Renaissance inspiration, it is listed as a ''Monument historique'' since May 2002. Its ...
(Lille City Hall) is one of the 23 belfries in the
Nord-Pas-de-Calais Nord-Pas-de-Calais (); pcd, Nord-Pas-Calés); is a former administrative region of France. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Hauts-de-France. It consisted of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Nord-Pas-de-Cala ...
and
Somme __NOTOC__ Somme or The Somme may refer to: Places *Somme (department), a department of France *Somme, Queensland, Australia *Canal de la Somme, a canal in France *Somme (river), a river in France Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Somme'' (book), a ...
regions that were classified as
UNESCO World Heritage Sites A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
in July 2005, in recognition of their architecture and importance to the rise of municipal power in Europe. The construction of the brand-new
Euralille Euralille is an urban quarter in the centre of Lille, France. Conceived as a major European business district in the 1980s, it is strategically located at the intersection of the high-speed railway lines linking Paris, Brussels, and London, and i ...
business district in 1988 (now the third largest in France) and the arrival of the
TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
and then the
Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
in 1994 put Lille at the heart of the major European capitals. The development of its
international airport An international airport is an airport with customs and border control facilities enabling passengers to travel between countries around the world. International airports are usually larger than domestic airports and they must feature longer ...
, annual events such as the
Braderie de Lille The Lille Braderie (''French: Braderie de Lille'') is a braderie, or annual street market/flea market, that takes place on the weekend of the first Sunday of September in Lille, France, in the northern Hauts-de-France region. Its dates back to th ...
in early September (attracting three million visitors), the development of a student and
university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...
center (with more than 110,000 students, the third largest in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
behind
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
and
Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...
), its ranking as a European Capital of Culture in 2004 and the events of Lille 2004 ( European Capital of Culture) and Lille 3000 are the main symbols of this revival. The European metropolis of Lille was awarded the "World Design Capital 2020".


History


Origins

Archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern ''quartiers'' of
Fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...
,
Wazemmes Wazemmes is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, merged into Lille in 1858. It is a cosmopolitan neighborhood, with a significant population of Chinese immigrants. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The f ...
and Vieux Lille. The original inhabitants of the region were the
Gauls The Gauls ( la, Galli; grc, Γαλάται, ''Galátai'') were a group of Celtic peoples of mainland Europe in the Iron Age and the Roman period (roughly 5th century BC to 5th century AD). Their homeland was known as Gaul (''Gallia''). They s ...
, such as the Menapians, the Morins, the
Atrebates The Atrebates (Gaulish: *''Atrebatis'', 'dwellers, land-owners, possessors of the soil') were a Belgic tribe of the Iron Age and the Roman period, originally dwelling in the Artois region. After the tribes of Gallia Belgica were defeated by Caes ...
and the Nervians, who were followed by
Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were historical groups of people that once occupied Central Europe and Scandinavia during antiquity and into the early Middle Ages. Since the 19th century, they have traditionally been defined by the use of ancient and ear ...
: the
Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...
, the
Frisians The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal regions of the Netherlands and northwestern Germany. They inhabit an area known as Frisia and are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, ...
and the
Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...
. The legend of "
Lydéric and Phinaert Lydéric and Phinaert were semi-legendary figures tied to the foundation of the French city of Lille. Legend Around 620 AD, the prince of Duchy of Dijon, Salvaert, made his way to the lands that would become the Kingdom of England with his preg ...
" puts the foundation of the city of Lille at 640. In the 8th century, the language of
Old Low Franconian In linguistics, Old Dutch (Dutch: Oudnederlands) or Old Low Franconian (Dutch: Oudnederfrankisch) is the set of Franconian dialects (i.e. dialects that evolved from Frankish) spoken in the Low Countries during the Early Middle Ages, from aroun ...
was spoken, as attested by
toponymic Toponymy, toponymics, or toponomastics is the study of ''wikt:toponym, toponyms'' (proper names of places, also known as place names and geographic names), including their origins, meanings, usage and types. Toponym is the general term for a p ...
research. Lille's Dutch name is ''Rijsel'', which comes from ''ter ijsel'' (at the island) from
Middle Dutch Middle Dutch is a collective name for a number of closely related West Germanic dialects whose ancestor was Old Dutch. It was spoken and written between 1150 and 1500. Until the advent of Modern Dutch after 1500 or c. 1550, there was no overarch ...
''ijssel'' ("small island, islet"),
calque In linguistics, a calque () or loan translation is a word or phrase borrowed from another language by literal word-for-word or root-for-root translation. When used as a verb, "to calque" means to borrow a word or phrase from another language wh ...
of
Old French Old French (, , ; Modern French: ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France from approximately the 8th to the 14th centuries. Rather than a unified language, Old French was a linkage of Romance dialects, mutually intelligib ...
l'Isle ("the Island"), itself from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
''Īnsula'', from ''īnsula'' ("island"). From 830 to around 910, the
Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...
invaded Flanders. After the destruction caused by
Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Fran ...
' and the
Magyars Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Uralic ...
' invasion, the eastern part of the region was ruled by various local princes. The first mention of the town dates from 1066: ''apud Insulam'' (Latin for "at the island"). It was then controlled by the
County of Flanders The County of Flanders was a historic territory in the Low Countries. From 862 onwards, the counts of Flanders were among the original twelve peers of the Kingdom of France. For centuries, their estates around the cities of Ghent, Bruges and Ypr ...
, as were the regional cities (the
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
cities
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
,
Arras Arras ( , ; pcd, Aro; historical nl, Atrecht ) is the prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais Departments of France, department, which forms part of the regions of France, region of Hauts-de-France; before the regions of France#Reform and mergers of ...
,
Cambrai Cambrai (, ; pcd, Kimbré; nl, Kamerijk), formerly Cambray and historically in English Camerick or Camericke, is a city in the Nord (French department), Nord Departments of France, department and in the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, regio ...
as well as the
Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty (; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charlemagne, grandson of mayor Charles Martel and a descendant of the Arnulfing and Pippin ...
cities
Valenciennes Valenciennes (, also , , ; nl, label=also Dutch, Valencijn; pcd, Valincyinnes or ; la, Valentianae) is a commune in the Nord department, Hauts-de-France, France. It lies on the Scheldt () river. Although the city and region experienced a s ...
,
Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audomar, ...
,
Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...
and
Bruges Bruges ( , nl, Brugge ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium, in the northwest of the country, and the sixth-largest city of the countr ...
). The County of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the
Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of Netherlands, the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corr ...
, one of the richest and most prosperous regions of Europe.


Middle Ages

The Carolingian duke Évrard lived in the city in the 9th century and participated in many of the day's political and military affairs. There was an important Battle of Lille in 1054.
Raimbert of Lille Raimbert of Lille (fl. c. 1100) was an early medieval nominalist who taught at Lille. Along with Roscelin, he was an opponent of exaggerated realism. His nominalism was attacked by Odo of Tournai Odo of Tournai, also known as Odoardus or Odo of Orl ...
(fl. c. 1100) was an early
nominalist In metaphysics, nominalism is the view that universals and abstract objects do not actually exist other than being merely names or labels. There are at least two main versions of nominalism. One version denies the existence of universalsthings th ...
who taught at Lille. From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow. In 1144 Saint-Sauveur parish was formed, which would give its name to the modern-day ''quartier Saint-Sauveur''. The counts of Flanders,
Boulogne Boulogne-sur-Mer (; pcd, Boulonne-su-Mér; nl, Bonen; la, Gesoriacum or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the ...
, and Hainaut came together with England and East Frankia and tried to regain territory taken by
Philip II of France Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French ...
following Henry II of England's death, a war that ended with the French victory at
Bouvines Bouvines (; nl, Bovingen) is a commune and village in the Nord department in northern France. It is on the French-Belgian border between Lille and Tournai. History On 27 July 1214, the Battle of Bouvines was fought here between the forces of F ...
in 1214.
Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders Ferdinand (Portuguese: ''Fernando'', French and Dutch: ''Ferrand''; 24 March 1188 – 27 July 1233) reigned as '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders and Hainaut from his marriage to Countess Joan, celebrated in Paris in 1212, until his death. He w ...
was imprisoned and the county fell into dispute: it would be his wife,
Jeanne, Countess of Flanders Joan, often called Joan of Constantinople ( 1199 – 5 December 1244), ruled as Countess of Flanders and Hainaut from 1205 (at the age of six) until her death. She was the elder daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of Flanders and Hainaut, and Marie ...
and
Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...
, who ruled the city. She was said to be well loved by the residents of Lille, who by that time numbered 10,000. In 1225, the
street performer Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performance is pr ...
and
juggler Juggling is a physical skill, performed by a juggler, involving the manipulation of objects for recreation, entertainment, art or sport. The most recognizable form of juggling is toss juggling. Juggling can be the manipulation of one object o ...
Bertrand Cordel Bertrand may refer to: Places * Bertrand, Missouri, US * Bertrand, Nebraska, US * Bertrand, New Brunswick, Canada * Bertrand Township, Michigan, US * Bertrand, Michigan * Bertrand, Virginia, US * Bertrand Creek, state of Washington * Saint-Ber ...
, doubtlessly encouraged by local lords, tried to pass himself off as
Baldwin I of Constantinople Baldwin I ( nl, Boudewijn; french: Baudouin; July 1172 – ) was the first Emperor of the Latin Empire of Constantinople; Count of Flanders (as Baldwin IX) from 1194 to 1205 and Count of Hainaut (as Baldwin VI) from 1195-1205. Baldwin was o ...
(the father of Jeanne of Flanders), who had disappeared at the
battle of Adrianople The Battle of Adrianople (9 August 378), sometimes known as the Battle of Hadrianopolis, was fought between an Eastern Roman army led by the Eastern Roman Emperor Valens and Gothic rebels (largely Thervings as well as Greutungs, non-Gothic Ala ...
. He pushed the counties of
Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...
and Hainaut towards sedition against Jeanne in order to recover his land. She called her cousin,
Louis VIII Louis VIII (5 September 1187 – 8 November 1226), nicknamed The Lion (french: Le Lion), was King of France from 1223 to 1226. As prince, he invaded England on 21 May 1216 and was excommunicated by a papal legate on 29 May 1216. On 2 June 1216 ...
("The Lion"). He unmasked the imposter, whom Countess Jeanne quickly had hanged. In 1226 the king agreed to free Infante Ferdinand, Count of Flanders. Count Ferrand died in 1233, and his daughter Marie soon after. In 1235, Jeanne granted a city charter by which city governors would be chosen each All Saint's Day by four commissioners chosen by the ruler. On 6 February 1236, she founded the Countess's Hospital (
Hospice Comtesse The Hospice Comtesse or Hospice Notre-Dame is a 17th-century hospice on Rue de la Monnaie in the Old Town area of Lille, France, first built in 1236 by Joan, Countess of Flanders Joan, often called Joan of Constantinople ( 1199 – 5 December ...
). It was in her honour that the hospital of the Regional Medical University of Lille was named "Jeanne of Flanders Hospital" in the 20th century. The Countess died in 1244 in the
Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
of Marquette, leaving no heirs. The rule of Flanders and Hainaut thus fell to her sister,
Margaret II, Countess of Flanders Margaret, often called Margaret of Constantinople (1202 – 10 February 1280), ruled as Countess of Flanders during 1244–1278 and Countess of Hainaut during 1244–1253 and 1257–1280. She was the younger daughter of Baldwin IX, Count of ...
, then to Margaret's son,
Guy of Dampierre Guy of Dampierre (french: Gui de Dampierre; nl, Gwijde van Dampierre) ( – 7 March 1305, Compiègne) was the Count of Flanders (1251–1305) and Marquis of Namur (1264–1305). He was a prisoner of the French when his Flemings defeated the ...
. Lille fell under the rule of France from 1304 to 1369, after the
Franco-Flemish War The Franco-Flemish War (french: Guerre de Flandre; nl, Vlaamse opstand) was a conflict between the Kingdom of France and the County of Flanders between 1297 and 1305. Causes Philip IV of France became king in 1285, and was determined to stren ...
(1297–1305). The county of Flanders fell to the
Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...
next, after the 1369 marriage of
Margaret III, Countess of Flanders Margaret III (13 April 1350 – 16/21 March 1405) was a ruling Countess of Flanders, Countess of Artois, and Countess of Auvergne and Boulogne between 1384 and 1405. She was the last Countess of Flanders of the House of Dampierre. She was al ...
, and
Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and '' jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II was ...
, Duke of Burgundy. Lille thus became one of the three capitals of said Duchy, along with
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
and
Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...
. By 1445, Lille counted some 25,000 residents.
Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...
, Duke of Burgundy, was even more powerful than the
King of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the Kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I () as the first ...
, and made Lille an administrative and financial capital. On 17 February 1454, one year after the taking of Constantinople by the
Turks Turk or Turks may refer to: Communities and ethnic groups * Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages * Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation * Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic o ...
, Philip the Good organised a Pantagruelian banquet at his Lille palace, the still-celebrated "
Feast of the Pheasant The Feast of the Pheasant ( French: ''Banquet du Vœu du faisan'', "Banquet of the Oath of the Pheasant") was a banquet given by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy on 17 February 1454 in Lille, now in France. Its purpose was to promote a crusade ag ...
". There the Duke and his court undertook an oath to Christianity. In 1477, at the death of the last duke of Burgundy,
Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...
,
Mary of Burgundy Mary (french: Marie; nl, Maria; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled a collection of states that included the duchies of Limburg, Brabant, Luxembourg, the counties of ...
married Maximilian of Austria, who thus became Count of Flanders.


Early modern era

The 16th and the 17th centuries were marked by a boom in the regional textile industry, the Protestant revolts and outbreaks of the
plague Plague or The Plague may refer to: Agriculture, fauna, and medicine *Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis'' * An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural) * A pandemic caused by such a disease * A swarm of pes ...
. Lille came under the rule of the
Holy Roman Emperor Charles V Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...
in 1519. The
Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...
fell to his eldest son,
Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
, in 1555. The city remained under
Spanish Habsburg Habsburg Spain is a contemporary historiographical term referring to the huge extent of territories (including modern-day Spain, a piece of south-east France, eventually Portugal, and many other lands outside of the Iberian Peninsula) ruled be ...
rule until 1668.
Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Cal ...
first appeared in the area in 1542, and by 1555, the authorities were taking steps to suppress that form of
Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
. In 1566, the countryside around Lille was affected by the
Iconoclastic Fury ''Beeldenstorm'' () in Dutch and ''Bildersturm'' in German (roughly translatable from both languages as 'attack on the images or statues') are terms used for outbreaks of destruction of religious images that occurred in Europe in the 16th centu ...
. In 1578, the Hurlus, a group of Protestant rebels, stormed the castle of the Counts of Mouscron. They were removed four months later by a Catholic Wallon regiment, and they tried several times between 1581 and 1582 to take the city of Lille, all in vain. The Hurlus were notably held back by the legendary
Jeanne Maillotte Jeanne may refer to: Places * Jeanne (crater), on Venus People * Jeanne (given name) * Joan of Arc (Jeanne d'Arc, 1412–1431) * Joanna of Flanders (1295–1374) * Joan, Duchess of Brittany (1319–1384) * Ruth Stuber Jeanne (1910–2004), Americ ...
. At the same time (1581), at the call of
Elizabeth I of England Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
, the north of the
Seventeen Provinces The Seventeen Provinces were the Imperial states of the Habsburg Netherlands in the 16th century. They roughly covered the Low Countries, i.e., what is now the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and most of the French departments of Nord (Fre ...
, having gained a Protestant majority, successfully revolted and formed the
Dutch Republic The United Provinces of the Netherlands, also known as the (Seven) United Provinces, officially as the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands (Dutch: ''Republiek der Zeven Verenigde Nederlanden''), and commonly referred to in historiography ...
. The war brought or exacerbated periods of famine and plague (the last in 1667–1679). The first printer to set up shop in Lille was Antoine Tack in 1594. The 17th century saw the building of new institutions: an
Irish College Irish Colleges is the collective name used for approximately 34 centres of education for Irish Catholic clergy and lay people opened on continental Europe in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. History The Colleges were set up to educate Roma ...
in 1610, a Jesuit college in 1611, an Augustinian college in 1622, almshouses or hospitals such as the Maison des Vieux hommes in 1624 and the Bonne et Forte Maison des Pauvres in 1661, and of a Mont-de-piété in 1626. Unsuccessful French attacks on the city were launched in 1641 and 1645. In 1667,
Louis XIV , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...
of France (the Sun King) successfully laid siege to Lille, resulting in it becoming French in 1668 under the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, provoking discontent among the citizens of the prosperous city. A number of important public works undertaken between 1667 and 1670, such as the
Citadel A citadel is the core fortified area of a town or city. It may be a castle, fortress, or fortified center. The term is a diminutive of "city", meaning "little city", because it is a smaller part of the city of which it is the defensive core. In ...
(erected by Vauban), or the creation of the quartiers of Saint-André and la Madeleine, enabled the French king to gradually gain the confidence of his new subjects in Lille, some of whom continued to feel Flemish, but they had always spoken the Romance
Picard language Picard (, also , ) is a ''langue d'oïl'' of the Romance language family spoken in the northernmost part of France and Hainaut province in Belgium. Administratively, this area is divided between the French Hauts-de-France region and the Belgian ...
. For five years, from 1708 to 1713, the city was occupied by the Dutch during the
War of the Spanish Succession The War of the Spanish Succession was a European great power conflict that took place from 1701 to 1714. The death of childless Charles II of Spain in November 1700 led to a struggle for control of the Spanish Empire between his heirs, Phil ...
. Throughout the 18th century, Lille remained profoundly Catholic. It took little part in the
French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
, but there were riots and the destruction of churches. In 1790, the city held its first municipal elections.


Post-French Revolution

In 1792, in the aftermath of the French Revolution, the
Austrians , pop = 8–8.5 million , regions = 7,427,759 , region1 = , pop1 = 684,184 , ref1 = , region2 = , pop2 = 345,620 , ref2 = , region3 = , pop3 = 197,990 , ref3 ...
, then in the United Provinces, laid siege to Lille. The "
Column of the Goddess The Column of the Goddess is the popular name given by the citizens of Lille (France) to the Memorial of the Siege of 1792. The memorial is still in the center of the ''Grand′ Place'' (central square) of Lille, and has been surrounded by a founta ...
", erected in 1842 in the "Grand-Place" (officially named ), is a tribute to the city's resistance, led by
Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...
. Although Austrian artillery destroyed many houses and the main church of the city, the city did not surrender, and the Austrian Army left after eight days. The city continued to grow and, by 1800, had some 53,000 residents, leading to Lille becoming the seat of the Nord ''départment'' in 1804. In 1846, a railway connecting Paris and Lille was built. In the early the 19th century,
Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
's
continental blockade The Continental Blockade (), or Continental System, was a large-scale embargo against British trade by Napoleon Bonaparte against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars. Napoleon issued the Berlin ...
against the United Kingdom led to Lille's textile industry developing even more fully. The city was known for its cotton while the nearby towns of
Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...
and
Tourcoing Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a Communes of France, commune within the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), ...
worked wool. Leisure activities were thoroughly organised in 1858 for the 80,000 inhabitants. Cabarets or taverns for the working class numbered 1,300, or one for every three houses. At that time the city counted 63 drinking and singing clubs, 37 clubs for card players, 23 for bowling, 13 for skittles, and 18 for archery. The churches likewise have their social organizations. Each club had a long roster of officers, and a busy schedule of banquets festivals and competitions. In 1853,
Alexandre Desrousseaux Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander Alexander is a male given name. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom o ...
composed his lullaby " P'tit quinquin". In 1858, Lille annexed the adjacent towns of
Esquermes Esquermes is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, since 1858 part of Lille. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic ...
,
Fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...
, Moulins-Lille and
Wazemmes Wazemmes is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, merged into Lille in 1858. It is a cosmopolitan neighborhood, with a significant population of Chinese immigrants. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The f ...
. Lille's population was 158,000 in 1872, growing to over 200,000 by 1891. In 1896 Lille became the first city in France to be led by a socialist,
Gustave Delory Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...
. By 1912, Lille's population stood at 217,000. The city profited from the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe, and the United States, that occurred during the period from around 1760 to about 1820–1840. This transition included going f ...
, particularly via coal and the
steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...
. The entire region grew wealthy thanks to its mines and textile industry.


First World War

Lille's occupation by the Germans began on 13 October 1914 after a ten-day siege and heavy shelling, which destroyed 882 apartment and office blocks and 1,500 houses, mostly around the railway station and in the centre. By the end of October, the city was being run by German authorities. Because Lille was only 20 km from the battlefield, German troops passed through the city regularly on their way to and from the front. As a result, occupied Lille became a place for the hospitalisation and the treatment of wounded soldiers as well as a place for soldiers' relaxation and entertainment. Many buildings, homes and businesses were requisitioned to those ends. Lille was liberated by the Allies on 17 October 1918, when General Sir
William Birdwood Field Marshal William Riddell Birdwood, 1st Baron Birdwood, (13 September 1865 – 17 May 1951) was a British Army officer. He saw active service in the Second Boer War on the staff of Lord Kitchener. He saw action again in the First World War ...
and his troops were welcomed by joyous crowds. The general was made an honorary citizen of the city of Lille on 28 October. The only audio recording known to have been made during World War I was recorded near Lille in October 1918. The two-minute recording captured the Royal Garrison Artillery conducting a gas shell bombardment. Lille was also the hunting ground of the German World War I flying ace
Max Immelmann Max Immelmann (21 September 1890 – 18 June 1916) '' PLM'' was the first German World War I flying ace.Shores, 1983, p. 10. He was a pioneer in fighter aviation and is often mistakenly credited with the first aerial victory using a synchr ...
, who was nicknamed "the Eagle of Lille".


''Années Folles'', Great Depression and Popular Front

In July 1921, at the
Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines f ...
in Lille,
Albert Calmette Léon Charles Albert Calmette ForMemRS (12 July 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist, and an important officer of the Pasteur Institute. He discovered the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, an attenuated for ...
and
Camille Guérin Jean-Marie Camille Guérin (; 22 December 1872 – 9 June 1961) was a French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist who, together with Albert Calmette, developed the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for immunization against tuber ...
discovered the first anti-
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...
, known as BCG ("Bacille de Calmette et Guérin"). The
Opéra de Lille The Opéra de Lille is a neo-classical opera house, built from 1907 to 1913 and officially inaugurated in 1923. Closed for renovation in 1998 it reopened in 2003 for Lille 2004. The Opéra de Lille is a member of the European Network for Opera, M ...
, designed by Lille architect
Louis M. Cordonnier Louis Marie Cordonnier (July 7, 1854, Haubourdin, Nord – 1940) was a French architect, born in Haubourdin and associated principally with Lille and the French Flanders region. Biography Son of the architect Jean-Baptiste Cordonnier (1820 ...
, was dedicated in 1923. From 1931, Lille felt the repercussions of the
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, and by 1935, a third of the city's population lived in poverty. In 1936, the city's mayor,
Roger Salengro Roger Henri Charles Salengro (30 May 1890, in Lille – 18 November 1936, in Lille) was a French politician. He achieved fame as Minister of the Interior during the Popular Front government in 1936. He committed suicide a few months after taking ...
, became
Minister of the Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
of the
Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...
but eventually killed himself after right-wing groups led a slanderous campaign against him.


Second World War

During the
Battle of France The Battle of France (french: bataille de France) (10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign ('), the French Campaign (german: Frankreichfeldzug, ) and the Fall of France, was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of French Third Rep ...
, Lille was besieged by German forces for several days. When Belgium was invaded, the citizens of Lille, still haunted by the events of World War I, began to flee the city in large numbers. Lille was part of the zone under control of the German commander in Brussels, and was never controlled by the
Vichy government Vichy France (french: Régime de Vichy; 10 July 1940 – 9 August 1944), officially the French State ('), was the fascist French state headed by Marshal Philippe Pétain during World War II. Officially independent, but with half of its terr ...
in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. Lille was instead controlled under the military administration in Northern France. The ''départments'' of Nord and
Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...
(with the exception of the coast, notably
Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...
'' with Lille. Throughout the 1960s and the 1970s, the region was faced with some problems after the decline of the coal, mining and textile industries. From the early 1980s, the city began to turn itself more towards the
service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...
. Pierre Mauroy served as Mayor of Lille for 28 years from 1973 to 2001. Mauroy was Prime Minister for part of the term of Francois Mitterrand. In 1983, the
VAL Val may refer to: Val-a Film * ''Val'' (film), an American documentary about Val Kilmer, directed by Leo Scott and Ting Poo Military equipment * Aichi D3A, a Japanese World War II dive bomber codenamed "Val" by the Allies * AS Val, a Sov ...
, the world's first automated
rapid transit Rapid transit or mass rapid transit (MRT), also known as heavy rail or metro, is a type of high-capacity public transport generally found in urban areas. A rapid transit system that primarily or traditionally runs below the surface may be c ...
underground network, opened. In 1993, a high-speed
TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
train line was opened connecting Paris with Lille in one hour. This, with the opening of the
Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...
in 1994 and the arrival of the
Eurostar Eurostar is an international high-speed rail service connecting the United Kingdom with France, Belgium and the Netherlands. Most Eurostar trains travel through the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France, owned and operated sep ...
train put Lille at the centre of a triangle connecting Paris, London and Brussels. Work on Euralille, an urban remodelling project, began in 1991. The Euralille Centre was opened in 1994, and the remodeled district is now full of parks and modern buildings containing offices, shops and apartments. In 1994 the "Grand Palais" was also opened for the general public, which is free for the public to enter on the first Sunday of every month.


21st Century

Lille was chosen as a European Capital of Culture in 2004, along with the
Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...
city of
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian ce ...
. Lille and Roubaix were affected by the
2005 riots 5 (five) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number, and cardinal number, following 4 and preceding 6, and is a prime number. It has attained significance throughout history in part because typical humans have five digits on eac ...
, like all of France's other urban centres. In 2007 and again in 2010, Lille was awarded the label "Internet City". The Saint-Joseph Chapel of Saint-Paul College was demolished in February 2021.


Climate

Lille can be described as having a temperate
oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate, is the humid temperate climate sub-type in Köppen classification ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of continents, generally featuring cool summers and mild winters ( ...
; summers normally do not reach high average temperatures, but winters can fall below freezing temperatures, but with averages quite a bit above the freezing mark. Precipitation is plentiful year round. The table below gives average temperatures and precipitation levels for the 1991–2020 reference period.


Environment

Lille is noted for its air pollution, with a 2018 study attributing 1,700 deaths per year in the agglomeration of Lille to pollution. In 2018, Lille held France's record pollution peaks.


Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Lille proper in its borders since 2000, i.e. a municipal territory of . This includes the former communes annexed by the commune of Lille:
Esquermes Esquermes is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, since 1858 part of Lille. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The following is a list of the 648 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic ...
,
Fives Fives is an English sport believed to derive from the same origins as many racquet sports. In fives, a ball is propelled against the walls of a 3- or 4-sided special court, using a gloved or bare hand as though it were a racquet, similar to ...
, Moulins-Lille, and
Wazemmes Wazemmes is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, merged into Lille in 1858. It is a cosmopolitan neighborhood, with a significant population of Chinese immigrants. Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord department The f ...
in 1858,
Hellemmes-Lille Hellemmes ( nl, Hellem) is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, since 1977 an associated part of Lille.Lomme Lomme (; nl, Olm) was a commune in the Nord ''département'' of northern France. It was absorbed as a '' commune associée'' by the city of Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in ...
in 2000. The Lille
metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...
, which is much larger than the small commune of Lille proper, covers a territory of (French part of the metropolitan area only) and had a population of 1,510,079 in 2019 (Jan. census).


Economy

A former major
mechanical Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...
,
food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditiona ...
and textile manufacturing centre as well as a retail and finance center, Lille is the largest city of a conurbation, built like a network of cities: Lille,
Roubaix Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century ...
, Tourcoing and
Villeneuve-d'Ascq Villeneuve-d'Ascq (; pcd, Neuvile-Ask) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métropole Européenne de Lille and the largest in area ( ...
. The conurbation forms the
Métropole Européenne de Lille The Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL; en, "European Metropolis of Lille") is the ''métropole'', an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities (Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) whose major c ...
which is France's fourth-largest urban conglomeration with a 2016 population of over 1.15 million.


Revenues and taxes

For centuries, Lille, a city of merchants, has displayed a wide range of incomes: great wealth and poverty have lived side by side, especially until the end of the 1800s. This contrast was noted by
Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romantic writer and politician. During a literary career that spanned more than sixty years, he wrote in a variety of genres and forms. He is considered to be one of the great ...
in 1851 in his poem
Les Châtiments ''Les Châtiments'' ("The Castigations" or "The Punishments") is a collection of poems by Victor Hugo, first published in 1853, that fiercely attack Napoléon III's Second Empire.Kathleen Kuiper, ''Encyclopedia Britannica'' editors (2011)Les Châ ...
: « ''Caves de Lille ! on meurt sous vos plafonds de pierre !'' » ("Cellars of Lille! We die under your stone ceilings!")


Employment

Employment in Lille has switched over half a century from a predominant industry to tertiary activities and services. Services account for 91% of employment in 2006.


Enterprises

At the end of 2015, Lille hosts around industry or service establishments.


Main sights

Lille features an array of architectural styles with various amounts of Flemish influence, including the use of brown and red brick. In addition, many residential neighborhoods, especially in Greater Lille, consist of attached two- to three-story houses aligned in a row, with narrow gardens in the back. These architectural attributes, many uncommon in France, help make Lille a transition in France to neighboring Belgium, as well as nearby Netherlands and England, where the presence of brick, as well as row houses or the
terraced house In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United State ...
is much more prominent. Points of interest include *
Lille Cathedral Lille Cathedral, the Basilica of Notre Dame de la Treille (french: Basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille de Lille), is a Roman Catholic church and basilica in Lille, France, and the cathedral of the Archdiocese of Lille. An example of G ...
(''Basilique-cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-la-Treille'') * Citadel of Lille * Palais des Beaux-Arts de Lille *
Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie The Jardin botanique de la Faculté de Pharmacie (2 hectares), more formally the Jardin de la Faculté des Sciences Pharmaceutiques et Biologiques de l'Université de Lille 2, is a botanical garden and arboretum operated by the Faculty of Pharmacy o ...
*
Jardin botanique Nicolas Boulay The Jardin botanique Nicolas Boulay is a botanical garden operated by the Faculty of Medicine at the Université Catholique de Lille, Lille, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. The garden is named in honor of Abbé Jean-Nicolas Boulay (1837-1905), ...
* Jardin des Plantes de Lille


La Braderie

Lille hosts an annual
braderie A braderie or jaarmarkt (respectively meaning ''roasting'' and ''annual market'' in Dutch) is a type of grand yearly street fair and street market found in the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France, mostly held in the summer month ...
on the first weekend in September. Its origins are thought to date back to the twelfth century and between two and three million visitors are drawn into the city. It is one of the largest gatherings of France and the largest
flea market A flea market (or swap meet) is a type of street market that provides space for vendors to sell previously-owned (second-hand) goods. This type of market is often seasonal. However, in recent years there has been the development of 'formal' ...
in Europe. Many of the roads in the inner city (including much of the old town) are closed and local shops, residents and traders set up stalls in the street.


Gallery

File:NUM19441.jpg, Column of the Goddess File:La Voix du Nord.jpg, Lille Grand Place. La Voix du Nord (newspaper offices) File:Lille2013.jpg, Lille Grand Place file:Lille_Cathedral_exterior_01.JPG, Lille Cathedral file:Jielbeaumadier theatre sebastopol lille 2007.jpg, Théâtre Sébastopol file:Jielbeaumadier place du lion d or lille 2008.jpg, Lion d'or square file:Jielbeaumadier porte de roubaix lille 2005.jpg, Porte de Roubaix Monument aux Morts et Palais Rihour, Lille (DSCF2443).jpg, Rihour palace file:Christ Church (Lille).JPG,
Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...
Christ Church file:Lille hotels particuliers Négrier.JPG, Hôtels particuliers rue Négrier, Vieux-Lille


Transport


Public transport

The
Métropole Européenne de Lille The Métropole Européenne de Lille (MEL; en, "European Metropolis of Lille") is the ''métropole'', an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities (Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) whose major c ...
has a mixed mode public transport system, which is considered one of the most modern in the whole of France. It comprises buses, trams and a driverless
light metro A medium-capacity system (MCS), also known as light rapid transit or light metro, is a rail transport system with a capacity greater than light rail, but less than typical heavy-rail rapid transit. MCS’s trains are usually 1-4 cars, or 1 ligh ...
system, all of which are operated under the Transpole name. The
Lille Metro The Lille Metro (french: Métro de Lille) is a driverless light metro system located in Lille, France. It was opened on 25 April 1983 and was the first to use the VAL (french: véhicule automatique léger, en, light automated vehicle) syst ...
is a VAL system (''véhicule automatique léger'' = light automated vehicle) that opened on 16 May 1983, becoming the first automatic light metro line in the world. The system has two lines, with a total length of and 60 stations. The tram system consists of two interurban tram lines, connecting central Lille to the nearby communities of Roubaix and Tourcoing, and has 45 stops. Sixty-eight urban bus routes cover the metropolis, 8 of which reach into Belgium.


Railways

Lille is an important junction in the European
high-speed rail High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail system that runs significantly faster than traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single standard that applies worldwide, lines ...
network. It lies on the Eurostar line to London (80-minute journey). The French TGV network also puts it only 1 hour from Paris and 38 minutes from Brussels and connects it to other major centres in France such as Marseille, Lyon and Toulouse. Lille has two railway stations next to each other:
Lille-Europe station Lille-Europe station (French: ''Gare de Lille-Europe'') is a SNCF railway station in Lille, France, on the LGV Nord high-speed railway. The station is primarily used for international Eurostar and long-distance SNCF TGV services, although some hi ...
(''Gare de Lille-Europe''), which primarily serves high-speed trains and international services (Eurostar), and
Lille-Flandres station Lille-Flandres station ( French: ''Gare de Lille-Flandres'', Dutch: ''Rijsel Vlaanderen'') is the main railway station of Lille, capital of French Flanders. It is a terminus for SNCF Intercity and regional trains. It opened in 1842 as the ''Gare d ...
(''Gare de Lille-Flandres''), which primarily serves lower-speed regional trains and regional
Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct language ...
trains.


Highways

Five ''autoroutes'' pass by Lille, the densest confluence of highways in France after Paris: *
Autoroute A27 Autoroute may refer to the following: * Controlled-access highway, particularly in French-speaking countries * Routing (electronic design automation), when routes to wires in a design are automatically assigned * Microsoft AutoRoute, European name ...
: Lille – Tournai – Brussels / Liège – Germany * Autoroute A23 : Lille – Valenciennes * Autoroute A1 : Lille – Arras – Paris / Reims – Lyon / Orléans / Le Havre * Autoroute A25 : Lille – Dunkirk – Calais – England / North Belgium * Autoroute A22 : Lille – Antwerp – Netherlands A sixth one—the A24—would have linked Amiens to Lille if built, but the project was rejected several times then abandoned.


Air traffic

Lille Lesquin International Airport Lille Airport (french: link=no, Aéroport de Lille) is an airport located in Lesquin, south-southeast of Lille, a city in northern France. It is also known as Lille-Lesquin Airport or Lesquin Airport. Lille is the principal city of the Lille ...
is 15 minutes from the city centre by car (11 km). In terms of shipping, it ranks fourth, with almost 38,000 tonnes of freight which pass through each year. Its passenger traffic, around 1.2 million in 2010, is modest due to the proximity to Brussels, Charleroi, and Paris-CDG airports. The airport mostly connects other French and European cities (some with
low-cost airline A low-cost carrier or low-cost airline (occasionally referred to as '' no-frills'', ''budget'' or '' discount carrier'' or ''airline'', and abbreviated as ''LCC'') is an airline that is operated with an especially high emphasis on minimizing op ...
s).


Waterways

Lille is the third-largest French river port after Paris and
Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
. The river Deûle is connected to regional waterways with over of navigable waters. The Deûle connects to Northern Europe via the river Scarpe and the river Scheldt (towards Belgium and the Netherlands), and internationally via the Lys (to Dunkerque and
Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...
). Shipping statistics


Education

With more than 110,000 students the metropolitan area of Lille is one of France's top student cities. * With roots from 1562 to 1793 as
University of Douai The University of Douai (french: Université de Douai) ( nl, Universiteit van Dowaai) is a former university in Douai, France. With a medieval heritage of scholarly activities in Douai, the university was established in 1559 and lectures started ...
, (then as Université Impériale in 1808), the State University of Lille was established in Lille in 1854 with
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
as the first dean of its Faculty of Sciences. A school of medicine and an engineering school were also established in Lille in 1854 and the University of Lille was united as the association of existing public Faculties in 1896. It was then split into three independent university campuses in 1970: Lille 1 University of Science and Technology, Lille 2 University of Law and Health and Lille 3 Charles de Gaulle University of Humanities, Social sciences, Literature and Arts. At the beginning of 2018 Lille 1, Lille 2 and Lille 3 merged to form the new
University of Lille The University of Lille (french: Université de Lille, abbreviated as ULille, UDL or univ-lille) is a French public research university based in Lille, Hauts-de-France. It has its origins in the University of Douai (1559), and resulted from the m ...
(student enrollment: 70,000). It is part of the Community of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) Lille Nord de France and the European Doctoral College Lille Nord de France. * The
Arts et Métiers ParisTech Arts et Métiers ParisTech is a French engineering and research institute of higher education. It is a ''grande école'', recognized for leading in the fields of mechanics and industrialization. Founded in 1780, it is among the oldest French ins ...
, an engineering graduate school of industrial and mechanical engineering, settled in Lille in 1900. This campus is one of the eight Teaching and Research Center (CER) of the school. Its creation was decided by Pierre-Nicolas Legrand de Lérant. * Ecole Centrale de Lille is one of the five Centrale Graduate Schools of engineering in France; it was founded in Lille city in 1854, its graduate engineering education and research center was established as
Institut industriel du Nord The Institut industriel du Nord (IDN) was the engineering school and research institute at École Centrale de Lille from 1872 to 1991, within the campus of the Lille University of Science and Technology (France). History École des arts indust ...
(IDN) in 1872, in 1968 it moved in a modern campus in Lille suburb. *
École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille The École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille (ENSCL or Chimie Lille) was founded in 1894 as the Institut de chimie de Lille. It is part of the Community of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) Lille Nord de France. It is located on the s ...
was established as Institut de chimie de Lille in 1894 supporting chemistry research as followers of Kuhlmann's breakthrough works in Lille. *
École supérieure de journalisme de Lille The École supérieure de journalisme (ESJ Lille) (in English: ''Superior School of Journalism of Lille'') is an institution of higher education, a French ''Grande École'' in Lille dedicated to journalism and related studies. It has been elected be ...
, journalism school created in 1924. *
Skema Business School SKEMA Business School (School of Knowledge Economy and Management) is a French business school, devoted to higher education and research. It has the legal status of a non-profit association under the French "1901 law". It was founded in 2009 as a ...
established in 1892 is ranked among the top business schools in France. *
École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies The Paris Graduate School of Digital Innovation (french: École pour l'informatique et les nouvelles technologies, or EPITECH), formerly European Institute of Information Technology, is a private institution of higher education in computer scien ...
settled in Lille in 2009. *
ESME-Sudria The École Spéciale de Mécanique et d'Electricité (English: Special School of Mechanics and Electricity), also known as ESME Sudria is a French private grande école founded in 1905. It is a part of the IONIS Education Group. Founded in ''190 ...
and
E-Artsup E-Artsup is a French private school created in 2001 and specialized in digital creativity and multimedia. The school is located at Paris, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, Montpellier, Toulouse, Strasbourg and Lille and is part of IONIS Education Group. Th ...
settled in Lille in 2012. * The ESA – École Supérieure des Affaires is a Business Management school established in Lille in 1990. * IEP Sciences-Po Lille political studies institute was established in Lille in 1992. * The
Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action The Institut supérieur européen de formation par l'action (ISEFAC) is a French private business school created in 2000. Located at Paris, Lille, Nice, Bordeaux, Lyon, Nantes, and Brussels, the school provides two courses: ISEFAC Bachelor and ...
is also located in Lille. * The
Institut supérieur européen de gestion group The Institut supérieur européen de gestion group (ISEG group, French for Advanced European Institute of Management) is a group of two business schools, ''ISEG Marketing & Communication School'' and ''ISG Programme Business & Management'', the fo ...
(ISEG Group) established in Lille in 1988. * The European Doctoral College Lille Nord de France is headquartered in Lille Metropolis and includes 3,000 PhD Doctorate students supported by university research laboratories. * The
Université Catholique de Lille The Université catholique de Lille (also known as the Catholic University of Lille), also « University and Polytechnic Federation of Lille » is a private collegiate university of Catholic-inspired institutions established in 1875. The u ...
was founded in 1875. Today it has law, economics, medicine, physics faculties and schools. **Among these schools is
Institut catholique d'arts et métiers Located in six cities in France, Institut catholique d'arts et métiers is a Graduate Engineering school created in 1898. It is one of the ''grandes écoles'' part of Toulouse Tech. Its different curricula lead to the following French & European ...
(ICAM) founded in 1898, ranked 20th among engineering schools, with the specificity of graduating polyvalent engineers. ** École des Hautes études d'ingénieur (HEI) a school of engineering founded in 1885 and offering 10 fields of specialization. **
École des hautes études commerciales du nord EDHEC Business School (french: Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales du Nord) is a French grandes écoles business school with campus locations in: Lille, France; Nice, France; Paris, France; London, UK; and Singapore. EDHEC offers its flagship M ...
(EDHEC) founded in 1906. EDHEC's MSc Financial Markets program was ranked #1 worldwide by Financial Times in 2017; making it one of the most prestigious financial study programs globally. ** IESEG School of Management founded in 1964 (17th place in the latest Financial Times global ranking of the 90 best masters in management, published on Monday 12 September 2016). **Skema Business School currently ranked within the top 5, the top 10 and top 15 business schools in France respectively. In 1924 ESJ—a leading journalism school—was established. Lille is also site of the University and Polytechnic Federation of Lille (Fédération Universitaire et Polytechnique de Lille), a large private educational university that includes a medical school, business school, law school, etc.


Notable people


The Arts

*
Renée Adorée Renée Adorée (born Jeanne de la Fonte; 30 September 1898 – 5 October 1933) was a French stage and film actress who appeared in Hollywood silent movies during the 1920s. She is best known for portraying the role of Melisande, the love intere ...
(1898–1933), actress * Alfred-Pierre Agache (1843–1915),
academic An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
painter *
Ernest Joseph Bailly Ernest Joseph Bailly, (or Baillu,) who was born at Lille in 1753, studied first in the Academy of Ghent, then at Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp), Antwerp, and subsequently at Paris. In 1777 he returned to Ghent, and was soon afterwards commissi ...
(1753–1823), painter *
Antoinette Bourignon Antoinette Bourignon de la Porte (13 January 161630 October 1680) was a French-Flemings, Flemish mysticism, mystic and adventurer. She taught that the Eschatology, end times would come soon and that the Last Judgment would then fall. Her belief w ...
(1616–1680) a French-Flemish mystic and adventurer. *
Victor Chocquet Victor Chocquet (9 December 1821 – 7 April 1891) was a French art collector and an ardent propagandist of Impressionism. As a senior editor at the Directorate-General of Customs and Indirect Taxes, he was present at all the exhibitions where he ...
(1821–1891), patron of the arts *
Émile Bernard Émile Henri Bernard (28 April 1868 – 16 April 1941) was a French Post-Impressionist painter and writer, who had artistic friendships with Vincent van Gogh, Paul Gauguin and Eugène Boch, and at a later time, Paul Cézanne. Most of his nota ...
(1868–1941), neoimpressionist painter *
Yvonne Chauffin Yvonne Chauffin (26 March 1905, Lille – 6 December 1995, Caudan) was a 20th-century French writer. A catholic, she wrote as a critic for ''Le Pèlerin''. She received the Prix Breizh in 1970. Work *1952: ''Marqués sur l'épaule'', Amiot Dumon ...
(1905–1995), writer, winner of the 1970 edition of the
Prix Breizh The prix Breizh is a French literary award bestowed under this name since 2001, on the initiative of Gwenn-Aël Bolloré. On that date, it succeeded the "Prix Bretagne" created in 1961. It crowns each year an author of Breton origin or friend of Br ...
*
Édouard Chimot Édouard Chimot (26 November 1880 – 7 June 1959) was a French artist, illustrator and editor whose career reached its peak in the 1920s in Paris, through the publication of fine quality art-printed books. As artist his own work occupies a charact ...
(d. 1959), artist and
illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicat ...
, editor of the
Devambez Maison Devambez is the name of a fine printer's firm in Paris. It operated under that name from 1873, when a printing business established by the royal engraver Hippolyte Brasseux in 1826 was acquired by Édouard Devambez. At first the firm spe ...
illustrated art-editions *
Léon Danchin Léon Danchin (21 June 1887 - 4 August 1938) was a French artist known for his drawings of animals, primarily sporting dogs. He was also a sculptor. Danchin was born in Lille (France) on 21 June 1887, the second of six children of Albert and Marg ...
(1887–1938), animal artist and sculptor *
Alain Decaux Alain Decaux (23 July 1925 − 27 March 2016) was a French historian. He was elected to the Académie française on 15 February 1979. In 2005, he was, with others authors as Frédéric Beigbeder, Mohamed Kacimi, Richard Millet and Jean-Pierre Th ...
(1925–2016), TV presenter, minister, writer, member of the
Académie française An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary education, secondary or tertiary education, tertiary higher education, higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membershi ...
*
Pierre De Geyter Pierre Chrétien De Geyter (; 8 October 1848 – 26 September 1932) was a Belgian socialist and a composer, known for writing the music of ''The Internationale''. Early life De Geyter was born in Ghent, Belgium, where his parents, originall ...
(1848–1932), textile worker, composed the music of ''
The Internationale "The Internationale" (french: "L'Internationale", italic=no, ) is an international anthem used by various communist and socialist groups; currently, it serves as the official anthem of the Communist Party of China. It has been a standard of th ...
'' in Lille *
Désiré Dihau Désiré Dihau (2 August 1833 – 20 August 1909) was a French bassoonist and composer. He was the bassoonist painted by Edgar Degas in ' with the cellist Louis-Marie Pilet seated behind him. Biography Désiré Hippolyte Dihau was born 2 Au ...
(1833–1909), bassoonist and composer *
Raoul de Godewaersvelde Raoul de Godewaersvelde (born Francis Albert Victor Delbarre) (28 January 1928 – 14 April 1977) was a French singer. Born in Lille, he was a member of the group ''Les Capenoules''. His best known song is undoubtedly "Quand la mer monte", writ ...
(1928–1977), singer *
Gabriel Grovlez Gabriel Marie Grovlez (4 April 1879 – 20 October 1944) was a French composer, conductor, pianist, and music critic. Early life and education Grovlez was born in Lille in 1879. His mother – the child of one of Chopin's students – was his fi ...
(1879–1944), pianist, conductor and composer *
Pierre Dubreuil Pierre Dubreuil (March 5, 1872 – January 9, 1944) was a French photographer, born in Lille, who spent his career in France and Belgium. As a pioneer of modernist photography, Dubreuil embraced innovative techniques and ideas that were celebrate ...
(1872–1944), photographer *
Carolus-Duran Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France. Biograph ...
(1837–1917), painter. *
Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...
(1896–1967), director *
Yvonne Furneaux Yvonne Furneaux (born Elisabeth Yvonne Scatcherd; 11 May 1928) is a French-British retired actress. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, she worked with notable filmmakers like Peter Brook, Federico Fellini, Roman Polanski, Michelan ...
(1928–), actress *
Paul Gachet Paul-Ferdinand Gachet (30 July 1828 – 9 January 1909) was a French physician most famous for treating the painter Vincent van Gogh during his last weeks in Auvers-sur-Oise. Gachet was a great supporter of artists and the Impressionist movement ...
(1828–1909), doctor known for treating the painter
Vincent van Gogh Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
*
Jacquemart Giélée Jacquemart Giélée (often spelt ''Gielée'') was a French poet of the Middle Ages born in Lille. Around 1288, he wrote a sequel to the Roman de Renart, ''Renart le Nouvel'', of more than 8000 verse. This moralized poem, with satirical accent ...
(13th century), poet *
Constance Jablonski Constance Jablonski (born 17 April 1991) is a French model and one of the most famous supermodels from France. In 2006, she entered the French Elite Model Look Contest. As of 2010, she became one of the newer faces of Estée Lauder alongside L ...
, (born 1991) model *
Kamini Kamini may refer to: * KAMINI, a research reactor at Indira Gandhi Center for Atomic Research in Kalpakkam, India * ''Kamini'' (film), a 1974 Indian Malayalam film Places * Kamini, Mummidivaram Mandal, a village in Andhra Pradesh, India * Kamini ...
(1980–), rap singer, hits success in 2006 with the "rural-rap" ''Marly-Gomont'' *
Édouard Lalo Édouard-Victoire-Antoine Lalo (27 January 182322 April 1892) was a French composer. His most celebrated piece is the ''Symphonie espagnole'', a five-movement concerto for violin and orchestra, which remains a popular work in the standard reper ...
(1823–1892), composer. *
Adélaïde Leroux Adélaïde Leroux (born 30 December 1982) is a French actress, best known for her role in the 2006 film ''Flanders''. She also played prominent roles in a number of other films, including Martin Provost's '' Séraphine'' (2008), Ursula Meier's ' ...
(born 1982), actress *
Serge Lutens Serge Lutens (born 14 March 1942 in Lille, France) is a French fashion designer, perfume creator, photographer, filmmaker and hair stylist. Career At fourteen, Lutens was taken on as an apprentice by a hair salon in Lille, a period which he de ...
(born 1942), photographer, make-up artist and fashion designer *
Iris Mittenaere Iris Mittenaere (; born 25 January 1993) is a French model, television host, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss Universe 2016. She is the second Miss Universe from France after Christiane Martel, who was elected Miss Universe 1 ...
(born 1993), model,
Miss France 2016 Miss France 2016 was the 86th Miss France pageant, held in Lille on 19 December 2015. Miss France 2015, Camille Cerf crowned her successor Iris Mittenaere at the end of the event. This was the third back-to-back in Miss France history after 1948-1 ...
, and
Miss Universe 2016 Miss Universe 2016 was the 65th Miss Universe pageant, held at the Mall of Asia Arena, in Pasay, Metro Manila, Philippines on January 30, 2017. This is the second time in the history of the competition that the pageant skipped an entire year, ...
*
Philippe Noiret Philippe Noiret (; 1 October 1930 – 23 November 2006) was a French film actor. Life and career Noiret was born in Lille, France, the son of Lucy (Heirman) and Pierre Noiret, a clothing company representative. He was an indifferent student and ...
(1930–2006), actor *
Charles-Joseph Panckoucke Charles-Joseph Panckoucke (; 26 November 1736 – 19 December 1798) was a French writer and publisher. He was responsible for numerous influential publications of the era, including the literary journal ''Mercure de France'' and the ''Encyclopéd ...
, (1736–1788), intellectual and writer *
Albert Samain Albert Victor Samain (3 April 185818 August 1900) was a French poet and writer of the Symbolist school. Life and works Born in Lille, his family were Flemish and had long lived in the town or its suburbs. At the time of the poet's birth, his fa ...
(1858–1900), poet. *
Ana Tijoux Anamaría Tijoux Merino (; born 12 June 1977), commonly known by her stage name Ana Tijoux or Anita Tijoux, is a Chilean-French singer and musician. She became famous in Latin America as the MC of Hip hop music, hip-hop group Makiza during the l ...
(born 1977), rapper and singer whose family originally was from
Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...


Politics, military and public service

*
Martine Aubry Martine Louise Marie Aubry (; née Delors; born 8 August 1950) is a French politician. She was the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party (''Parti Socialiste'', or PS) from November 2008 to April 2012, and has been the Mayor of Lille (No ...
(1950–), deputy, minister, and Mayor of Lille *
Madeleine Damerment Madeleine Zoe Damerment (11 November 1917 – 13 September 1944) was a French spy in World War II who served in the French Resistance and Britain's Special Operations Executive. Damerment was to be a courier for SOE's Bricklayer circuit in Fran ...
(1917–1944),
French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...
fighter, Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre,
Médaille de la Résistance The Resistance Medal (french: Médaille de la Résistance) was a decoration bestowed by the French Committee of National Liberation, based in the United Kingdom, during World War II. It was established by a decree of General Charles de Gaulle on 9 ...
*
Pierre Joseph Duhem Pierre Joseph Duhem (8 July 1758 – 24 March 1807) was a French physician and politician. Early years Son of a weaver, he was born in Lille. He was study supervisor in the Collège d'Anchin ( fr), in Douai, then he obtained his medical doctorat ...
(1758–1807), physician and Montagnard *
Louis Faidherbe Louis Léon César Faidherbe (; 3 June 1818 – 29 September 1889) was a French general and colonial administrator. He created the Senegalese Tirailleurs when he was governor of Senegal. Early life Faidherbe was born into a lower-middle-clas ...
(1818–1889), general, founder of the city of
Dakar Dakar ( ; ; wo, Ndakaaru) (from daqaar ''tamarind''), is the capital and largest city of Senegal. The city of Dakar proper has a population of 1,030,594, whereas the population of the Dakar metropolitan area is estimated at 3.94 million in 2 ...
and senator *
Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...
(1890–1970), general, resistance fighter,
President of France The president of France, officially the president of the French Republic (french: Président de la République française), is the executive head of state of France, and the commander-in-chief of the French Armed Forces. As the presidency i ...
* Joseph Gratry (1805−1872) theologian and author. *
Isabella of Hainault Isabella of Hainault (5 April 1170 – 15 March 1190) (Also spelled: Ysabella de Hainault, Ysabelle de Hainaut or Ysabeau de Hainaut) was a Queen of France as the first wife of King Philip II. She was also formally ruling Countess of Artois ''de ...
(1170–1190)
Queen of France This is a list of the women who were queens or empresses as wives of French monarchs from the 843 Treaty of Verdun, which gave rise to West Francia, until 1870, when the Third Republic was declared. Living wives of reigning monarchs technica ...
as the first wife of King Philip II. *
Augustin Laurent Augustin Laurent (9 September 1896 – 1 October 1990) was a French coal miner, journalist and socialist politician. He was a national deputy both before and after World War II (1939–45). During the war he was active in the French Resistance. Af ...
(1896–1990), minister, deputy, resistance fighter, and Mayor of Lille *
Achille Liénart Achille Liénart (; 7 February 1884—15 February 1973) was a French cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Lille from 1928 to 1968, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1930. Biography Born in Lille to a bourgeois ...
(1884–1973), « cardinal des ouvriers » *
Alain de Lille Alain de Lille (Alan of Lille) (Latin: ''Alanus ab Insulis''; 11281202/03) was a French theologian and poet. He was born in Lille, some time before 1128. His exact date of death remains unclear as well, with most research pointing toward it bei ...
(ca.1128 – ca.1202) a theologian and poet. *
Yves de Lille Jean Verdière, in religion Yves de Lille (active 1609-1628), was a Flemish Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, Capuchin friar who wrote an account of a pilgrimage to Holy Land undertaken in 1624–1625. Life Jean was born in Lille around 1587 to Charl ...
(ca.1587–unknown), Flemish Capuchin friar and author *
Pierre Mauroy Pierre Mauroy (; 5 July 1928 – 7 June 2013) was a French Socialist politician who was Prime Minister of France from 1981 to 1984 under President François Mitterrand. Mauroy also served as Mayor of Lille from 1973 to 2001. At the time of his de ...
(1928–2013), deputy, senator,
Prime Minister of France The prime minister of France (french: link=no, Premier ministre français), officially the prime minister of the French Republic, is the head of government of the French Republic and the leader of the Council of Ministers. The prime minister ...
, and Mayor of Lille


Science & Mathematics

*
Charles Barrois Charles Eugene Barrois (21 August 18515 November 1939) was a French geologist and palaeontologist. Life Barrois was born at Lille and educated at the Jesuit College of St Joseph in that town, where he studied geology under Professor Jules Goss ...
(1851–1939), geologist and palaeontologist. *
Joseph Valentin Boussinesq Joseph Valentin Boussinesq (; 13 March 1842 – 19 February 1929) was a French mathematician and physicist who made significant contributions to the theory of hydrodynamics, vibration, light, and heat. Biography From 1872 to 1886, he was appoi ...
(1842–1929), mathematician and physicist *
Albert Calmette Léon Charles Albert Calmette ForMemRS (12 July 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French physician, bacteriologist and immunologist, and an important officer of the Pasteur Institute. He discovered the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin, an attenuated for ...
(1863–1933) and
Camille Guérin Jean-Marie Camille Guérin (; 22 December 1872 – 9 June 1961) was a French veterinarian, bacteriologist and immunologist who, together with Albert Calmette, developed the Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG), a vaccine for immunization against tuber ...
(1872–1961), scientists who discovered the antituberculosis vaccine *
Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat (; born 29 December 1923) is a French mathematician and physicist. She has made seminal contributions to the study of General relativity, Einstein's general theory of relativity, by showing that the Einstein field equations, ...
(1923–), mathematician and physicist *
Jean Dieudonné Jean Alexandre Eugène Dieudonné (; 1 July 1906 – 29 November 1992) was a French mathematician, notable for research in abstract algebra, algebraic geometry, and functional analysis, for close involvement with the Nicolas Bourbaki pseudonymo ...
(1906–1992), mathematician *
Paul Hallez Paul Hallez (10 September 1846 - 2 November 1938) was a French zoologist and embryologist born in Lille. In 1864 he began his scientific career as a préparateur of natural history under Jules Gosselet (1832–1916) at the Faculté des Sciences i ...
(1846–1938), biologist *
Joseph Kampé de Fériet Marie-Joseph Kampé de Fériet (Paris, 14 May 1893 – Villeneuve d'Ascq, 6 April 1982) was professor at Université Lille Nord de France from 1919 to 1969. Besides his works on mathematics and fluid mechanics, he directed the ''Institut de mé ...
(1893–1982), researcher on fluid dynamics *
Charles Frédéric Kuhlmann Charles Frédéric Kuhlmann (22 May 1803 – 27 January 1881) was a French chemist who patented the reaction for converting ammonia to nitric acid, which was later used in the Ostwald process.Note: * Frédéric Kuhlmann, "Pour la fabrication d ...
, (1803–1881), chemist professor *
Gaspard Thémistocle Lestiboudois Gaspard Thémistocle Lestiboudois (12 October 1797, Lille – 22 November 1876, Paris) was a French naturalist. He was the son of botanist François Joseph Lestiboudois (1759-1815) and the grandson of Jean-Baptiste Lestiboudois (1715-1804), a ...
(1797–1876), naturalist *
Matthias de l'Obel Mathias de l'Obel, Mathias de Lobel or Matthaeus Lobelius (1538 – 3 March 1616) was a Flemish physician and plant enthusiast who was born in Lille, Flanders, in what is now Hauts-de-France, France, and died at Highgate, London, England. H ...
(1538–1616), physician to King
James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and King of Ireland, Ireland as James I from the Union of the Crowns, union of the Scottish and Eng ...
, scientist *
Henri Padé Henri Eugène Padé (; 17 December 1863 – 9 July 1953) was a French mathematician, who is now remembered mainly for his development of Padé approximation techniques for functions using rational functions. Education and career Padé ...
(1863–1953), mathematician *
Paul Painlevé Paul Painlevé (; 5 December 1863 – 29 October 1933) was a French mathematician and statesman. He served twice as Prime Minister of the Third Republic: 12 September – 13 November 1917 and 17 April – 22 November 1925. His entry into politic ...
(1863–1933), mathematician and politician *
Louis Pasteur Louis Pasteur (, ; 27 December 1822 – 28 September 1895) was a French chemist and microbiologist renowned for his discoveries of the principles of vaccination, microbial fermentation and pasteurization, the latter of which was named afte ...
, (1822–1895), micro-biologist *
Jean Baptiste Perrin Jean Baptiste Perrin (30 September 1870 – 17 April 1942) was a French physicist who, in his studies of the Brownian motion of minute particles suspended in liquids ( sedimentation equilibrium), verified Albert Einstein’s explanation of this ...
(1870–1942),
Nobel Prize The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
in physics


Sport

*
Maxime Agueh Maxime Agueh (born 1 April 1978) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper. Born in France, he represented the Benin national team internationally. Club career Born in Lille, Agueh began his career with Lille OSC. On 1 Ju ...
(born 1978), footballer *
Sanaa Altama Sanaa Altama (born 23 July 1990) is a former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. Born in France, he represented Chad at international level. Career Born in Lille, Altama began his career with hometown club Lille. He ...
(born 1990), footballer *
Alain Baclet Alain-Pierre Baclet (born 26 May 1986) is a French footballer who plays as a striker for Italian Eccellenza amateurs Promosport. Career Baclet played on Lille OSC's youth teams from 2001 to 2004, then moved to Italy to begin his professional ...
(born 1986), footballer *
Nabil Bentaleb Nabil Bentaleb ( ar, نبيل بن طالب; born 24 November 1994) is an Algerian professional association football, footballer who plays as a midfielder for Ligue 1 club Angers SCO, Angers and the Algeria national football team, Algeria nation ...
(born 1994), footballer *
Ismael Ehui Ismaël Ehui (born 10 December 1986) is a French footballer who plays as a striker. He played in the Football League for Scunthorpe United. Career Ismael signed a two-year professional contract at Fulham football club after being prolific in f ...
(born 1986), footballer *
Patrick Francheterre Patrick Francheterre (born 19 November 1948) is a French retired ice hockey player, coach, manager and international administrator. His playing career included time with CPM Croix and Dogues de Bordeaux as a player-coach and with the France me ...
(born 1948), ice hockey player, coach and manager *
Amandine Henry Amandine Chantal Henry (born 28 September 1989) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Division 1 Féminine club Lyon and the France national team. Having played in all youth levels, Henry made her senior in ...
(born 1989), footballer *
Gaël Kakuta Gaël Romeo Kakuta Mambenga (born 21 June 1991) is a professional footballer who plays as a winger for club Amiens and the DR Congo national team. A youth product of Lens, Kakuta moved to Chelsea in 2007 in a controversial transfer. Rarely ...
, footballer *
Clarck N'Sikulu Clarck N'Sikulu (born 10 July 1992) is a Congolese professional footballer who is currently without a club. Club career Born in Lille, France, N'Sikulu joined Évian in January 2012 from Lille OSC. He made his Ligue 1 debut during the 2012/13 se ...
, footballer *
Sarah Ousfar Sarah Ousfar (born July 28, 1993 in Lille, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlanti ...
(born 1993), basketball player *
Alassane Pléa Alassane Alexandre Pléa (born 10 March 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a striker or winger for Bundesliga club Borussia Mönchengladbach and the France national team. Club career Lyon Pléa made his senior debut for ...
, footballer *
Lucas Pouille Lucas Pouille (, born 23 February 1994) is a French professional tennis player. He has a career-high ATP singles ranking of world No. 10, achieved on 19 March 2018 and a career-high ATP doubles ranking of world No. 79, achieved on 11 April 2016. ...
, tennis player *
Alain Raguel Alain Raguel (born 6 September 1976 in Lille) is a former French footballer. He last played for Olympiakos Volou Olympiacos Volos Football Club ( el, Π.Α.Ε. Α.Σ. Ολυμπιακός Βόλου 1937) is a Greek professional football club b ...
(born 1976), footballer *
Antoine Sibierski Antoine Sibierski (born 5 August 1974) is a French former footballer who played as a midfielder. He started his career at hometown club Lille OSC, going on to play for AJ Auxerre, Nantes, with whom he won the Coupe de France twice, and RC Lens. H ...
(born 1974), footballer *
Didier Six Didier Six (born 21 August 1954) is a French football coach and former player, who most recently worked as manager of the Guinea national football team until October 2021. A gifted but inconsistent winger, Six enjoyed a nomadic career, playing ...
(born 1954), footballer *
Philippe Suywens Philippe Suywens (born December 12, 1971) is a former professional footballer who played as a striker. Suywens played professional football in Ligue 2 with Chamois Niortais F.C. before moving to amateur football with SO Châtellerault. See also ...
(born 1971), footballer *
Jerry Vandam Jerry Vandam (born 8 December 1988) is a French professional footballer who plays as a right back for Régional 1 club Grande-Synthe. Club career Lille Vandam signed for Lille in 2003, playing for youth teams until 2007. He began his professi ...
, footballer *
Raphaël Varane Raphaël Xavier Varane (; born 25 April 1993) is a French professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Premier League club Manchester United and the France national team. Considered as one of the best defenders of his generation, Varan ...
(born 1993), footballer *
Abdellah Zoubir Abdellah Zoubir ( ar, عبدالله زوبير; born 5 December 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or a winger for Azerbaijan Premier League club Qarabağ. He started out his senior career at Gren ...
(born 1991), footballer


Media and sports

Local newspapers include ''
Nord éclair ''Nord éclair'' is a French language regional newspaper in Roubaix, France, that has been in circulation since 1944. History and profile ''Nord éclair'' was first published on 5 September 1944. The paper has its headquarters in Roubaix and is ...
'' and '' La Voix du Nord''. France's national public television network has a channel that focuses on the local area:
France 3 Nord-Pas-de-Calais France 3 Nord-Pas-de-Calais is one France 3's regional services, broadcasting to people in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region. The service was founded on April 10, 1950 as RTF Télé-Lille. France 3 Nord-Pas-de-Calais can also be received in Belgium. ...
. The city's most major
association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...
club,
Lille OSC Lille Olympique Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as LOSC, LOSC Lille or simply Lille, is a French professional football club based in Lille, Hauts-de-France that competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French football. Lille has played its ...
, currently plays in
Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...
, the highest level of
football in France Association football is the most popular sport in France. The French Football Federation (FFF, Fédération Française de Football) is the national governing body and is responsible for overseeing all aspects of association football in the cou ...
. The club has won eight major national trophies and regularly features in the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competit ...
and
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It ...
. In the 2010–11 season, Lille won the
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and
cup A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...
double A double is a look-alike or doppelgänger; one person or being that resembles another. Double, The Double or Dubble may also refer to: Film and television * Double (filmmaking), someone who substitutes for the credited actor of a character * Th ...
. In 2020–21, they won the
league League or The League may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Leagues'' (band), an American rock band * ''The League'', an American sitcom broadcast on FX and FXX about fantasy football Sports * Sports league * Rugby league, full contact footba ...
and
supercup A super cup is a competition, usually but not exclusively in association football, which often forms the 'curtain raiser' to a season, and typically involves only two teams who have qualified through success in other competitions during the prev ...
. Lille's
Stade Pierre-Mauroy The Stade Pierre-Mauroy, also known as the Decathlon Arena – Stade Pierre-Mauroy for sponsorship reasons, is a multi-use retractable roof stadium in Villeneuve-d'Ascq (Métropole Européenne de Lille), France, that opened in August 2012. It has ...
was the playground for the final stages of the FIBA
EuroBasket 2015 EuroBasket 2015 was the 39th edition of the EuroBasket championship that was organized by FIBA Europe. It was co-hosted by Croatia, France, Germany, and Latvia, making it the first EuroBasket held in more than one country. It started on 5 Sept ...
. The same venue will host handball at the
2024 Summer Olympics The 2024 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 2024), officially the Games of the XXXIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la XXXIIIe Olympiade, links=no) and also known as Paris 2024, is an upcoming international multi-sport event that is s ...
as Paris getting the city being part instead football, where the city was eliminated as co-host city. It was in Lille that the 100th
World Esperanto Congress The World Esperanto Congress ( eo, Universala Kongreso de Esperanto, UK) is an annual Esperanto convention. It has the longest tradition among international Esperanto conventions, with an almost unbroken run for 113 years. The congresses have be ...
took place, in 2015. Lille is home to , former and continuously one of France's best
lacrosse Lacrosse is a team sport played with a lacrosse stick and a lacrosse ball. It is the oldest organized sport in North America, with its origins with the indigenous people of North America as early as the 12th century. The game was extensively ...
teams. The team plays its home games at .


International relations

Lille is twinned with: * Buffalo, United States *
Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany *
Erfurt Erfurt () is the capital and largest city in the Central German state of Thuringia. It is located in the wide valley of the Gera river (progression: ), in the southern part of the Thuringian Basin, north of the Thuringian Forest. It sits i ...
, Germany *
Esch-sur-Alzette Esch-sur-Alzette (; lb, Esch-Uelzecht ; german: Esch an der Alzette or ''Esch an der Alzig'') is the second city of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and the country's second-most populous commune, with a population of 35,040 inhabitants, . It lies ...
, Luxembourg *
Haifa Haifa ( he, חֵיפָה ' ; ar, حَيْفَا ') is the third-largest city in Israel—after Jerusalem and Tel Aviv—with a population of in . The city of Haifa forms part of the Haifa metropolitan area, the third-most populous metropol ...
, Israel *
Kharkiv Kharkiv ( uk, wikt:Харків, Ха́рків, ), also known as Kharkov (russian: Харькoв, ), is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city and List of hromadas of Ukraine, municipality in Ukraine.Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by populati ...
, England, United Kingdom *
Liège Liège ( , , ; wa, Lîdje ; nl, Luik ; german: Lüttich ) is a major city and municipality of Wallonia and the capital of the Belgian province of Liège. The city is situated in the valley of the Meuse, in the east of Belgium, not far from b ...
, Belgium *
Nablus Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
, Palestine *
Oujda Oujda ( ar, وجدة; ber, ⵡⵓⵊⴷⴰ, Wujda) is a major Moroccan city in its northeast near the border with Algeria. Oujda is the capital city of the Oriental region of northeastern Morocco and has a population of about 558,000 people. It ...
, Morocco *
Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"N ...
, Netherlands * Saint-Louis, Senegal *
Tlemcen Tlemcen (; ar, تلمسان, translit=Tilimsān) is the second-largest city in northwestern Algeria after Oran, and capital of the Tlemcen Province. The city has developed leather, carpet, and textile industries, which it exports through the por ...
, Algeria *
Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...
, Italy *
Valladolid Valladolid () is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province o ...
, Spain *
Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, rou ...
, Poland


References


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * *


External links



- Official website {{Authority control Lille, Communes of Nord (French department) Prefectures in France Cities in France French Flanders