50°38N 3°03E, pop (2000e) 177 900. Industrial and commercial city and capital of Nord department, N France; near the Belgian frontier, 208 km/129 mi NE of Paris; badly damaged in both World Wars; road and rail junction; university (1560); part of the main industrial centre of N France; textiles, tents, sugar-processing, hygiene goods, foodstuffs, chemicals, engineering, metalworking, printing, brewing; Gothic Church of St-Maurice, 16th-c Church of Ste-Catherine; cathedral (begun, 1854), 16th-c citadel, Palais des Beaux-Arts; international trade fair (Apr).
| Ville de Lille | ||
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| New city flag | Traditional coat of arms | |
| Motto: – | ||
| Location | ||
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| Coordinates | 50°37′57″N, 03°03′30″E | |
| Time Zone | CET (GMT +1) | |
| Administration | ||
|---|---|---|
| Country | France | |
| Région | Nord-Pas de Calais | |
| Département | Nord (59) | |
| Intercommunality |
Urban Community of Lille Métropole |
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| Mayor |
Martine Aubry (PS) (since 2001) |
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| City Statistics | ||
| Land area¹ | 39.51 km² | |
| Population² | 10th in France | |
| - 2004 estimate | 226,800 | |
| - Density | 5,740/km² (2004) | |
| Urban Spread | ||
| Urban Area | 450 km² (1999) | |
| - Population | 1,000,900 (1999) | |
| Metro Area | 975 km² (1999) | |
| - Population | 1,143,125 (1999) | |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > | ||
Lille (Dutch: Rijsel, Ryssel in old texts) is the main city of France's fourth largest metropolitan area (consisting of Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and their suburbs).
The city of Lille absorbed Lomme on February 27, 2000. The whole metropolitan area of Lille, both on French and Belgian territory (Kortrijk, Tournai) was estimated in 2000 at around 1,730,000 inhabitants, ranking as one of the major metropolitan areas of Europe.
History
In the 19th century Lille became the centre of French industry due to the large nearby coal deposits.
The name Lille comes from insula or l'Isla, since the area was at one time marshy.
Middle ages
From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow. On February 6th, 1236, she founded the Countess's Hospital (L'hospice de la comtesse), which remains one of the most beautiful buildings in Old Lille. It was in her honor that the hospital of the Regional Medical University of Lille was named "Jeanne of Flanders Hospital" in the 20th century. Lille fell under the rule of France from 1304 to 1369, after the battle of Mons-en-Pévèle. Philippe le Bon, Duke of Burgundy, was even more powerful than the King of France, and made Lille an administrative and financial capital.
On February 17, 1454, one year after the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, Philippe le Bon organised a Patagruelian banquet at his Lille palace, the still-celebrated "Feast of the Pheasant". They were removed four months later by a Catholic Wallon regiment, after which they tried several times between 1581 and 1582 to take the city of Lille, all in vain.
In 1667, King Louis XIV (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. Throughout the 18th century, Lille remained profoundly Catholic, which explains why the city did not really take part in the French Revolution, though there were riots and the destruction of churches.
After the French Revolution
In the aftermath of the French Revolution, the Austrians, then in the United Provinces, laid siege to Lille.
The city continued to grow, and by 1800 held some 53,000 residents, leading to Lille becoming the county seat of the Nord départment in 1804.
At the beginning of the 19th century, Napoleon I's continental blockade against the United Kingdom led to Lille's textile industry developing itself even more fully. In 1896 Lille became the first city in France to be led by a socialist, Gustave Delory.
By 1912, Lille's population was at 217,000: the city profited from the Industrial Revolution, particularly via coal and the steam engine.
World War I
From October 4th to 13th, 1914, the troops in Lille were able to trick the enemy by convincing them that Lille possessed more artillery than was the case;
The Années Folles, the Great Depression, and the Popular Front
In July 1921, at the Pasteur Institute in Lille, Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin discovered the first antituberculosis vaccine, known as BCG ("Bacille de Calmette et Guérin").
From 1931 Lille felt the repurcussions of the Great Depression, and by 1935 a third of the city's population lived in poverty.
World War II
Lille was taken by the Germans in May 1940, after brief resistance by a Moroccan Infantry division. When Belgium was invaded, the citizens of Lille, still marked by the events of World War I, began to flee the city in large numbers. Although Lille was part of the zone under control of the German commander in Brussels, the city was never controlled by the Vichy government. Following this, the Lille resistance managed to retake part of the city before the British tanks arrived.
Post-war to the present
In 1967, the Chambers of Commerce of Lille, Roubaix, and Tourcoing were joined, and in 1969, the Communauté urbaine de Lille (Lille urban community) was created, linking 87 communes with Lille. This, followed by the opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 and the arrival of the Eurostar train, puts Lille in the centre of a triangle connecting Paris, London, and Brussels.
Lille tried an unsuccessful bid for the organization of the Games of the XXVIIIth Olympiad in 2004.
Economy
A former major textile manufacturing centre, Lille forms the heart of a larger conurbation, regrouping Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing and Villeneuve d'Ascq, which is France's 4th-largest urban conglomeration with a 1999 population of over 1.1 million.
Transport
Lille is an important crossroads in the European high-speed rail network: it lies on the Eurostar line to London and the French TGV network to Paris, Brussels and other major centres in France.
The Lille Metro's VAL system (véhicule automatique léger = light automated vehicle) is a driverless metro.
Highways
Five autoroutes pass by Lille, the densest confluence of highways in France after Paris:
Autoroute A27 : Lille - Tournai - Brussels / Liège - England Autoroute A23 : Lille - Valenciennes Autoroute A1 : Lille - Arras - Paris / Reims - Lyon Autoroute A25 : Lille - Dunkirk - Calais - England Autoroute A22 : Lille - Antwerp - NetherlandsA sixth one — the proposed A24 — will link Amiens to Lille if built, but there is opposition to its route.
Air traffic
Lille Lesquin (http://www.lille.aeroport.fr/) International Airport is 15 minutes from the city centre.
Waterways
Lille is the 3rd largest French river port after Paris and Strasbourg.
Shipping statistics
| Year | 1997 | 2000 | 2003 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Millions of tonnes | 5.56 | 6.68 | 7.30 |
| By River or Sea | 8.00% | 8.25% | 13.33% |
| By Rail | 6.28% | 4.13% | 2.89% |
| By Road | 85.72% | 87.62% | 83.78% |
Education
With over 144 000 students, the metropolitan area of Lille is one of the first student cities in France. Among the most famous is EDHEC Business School founded in 1906, the ESC Lille Graduate School of Business founded in 1892, the IESEG currently ranked within the top 5, 10 and 15 business schools in France, respectively. In 1924 ESJ - a leading journalism school - was established, in 1970 three public universities (Lille I, II and III) were created, and in 1992 the Institut d'études politiques de Lille.
Miscellaneous
Lille has one of France's largest university student population with, depending on the information source, from 95,000 to 149,533 students in 2002-2003.
The Euralille urban development project, centred around the new TGV station has fostered a long debate among Lille's citizens.
Lille was elected European Capital of Culture in 2004, along with the Italian city of Genoa
Lille is part of the Lille Métropole Communauté urbaine (formerly also known as C.U.D.L.).
Lille's Soccer club the Lille Olympique Sporting Club is one of the major teams in the French Soccer league, has won 8 major national trophies and now reagularly features in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Cup.
Lille's Fine Arts Museum (Musée des beaux-arts) is the second largest in France, after the Louvre.
The European Railway Agency (http://www.era.eu.int/) has offices in Lille and Valenciennes.
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