Nord is the country's most populous département. It had a population of 2,608,346 in 2019.[3] It also contains the metropolitan region ofLille (the main city and theprefecture of thedépartement), the fourth-largesturban area in France afterParis,Lyon andMarseille. The department is the part of France where theFrench Flemish dialect ofDutch has historically been spoken as a native language. Similarly, the distinct French Picard dialectCh'ti is spoken there.
Until the 17th century, the history of the North (Nord, French department) was largely in common with the history ofBelgium (the CelticsBelgians during Antiquity were a multitude of Celtic peoples from the north ofGaul). The historicalFrench provinces that preceded Nord areFrench Flanders,French Hainaut (part ofHainaut andFlanders is in the Kingdom ofBelgium). Tribes of theBelgae, such as theMenapii andNervii were the first peoples recorded in the area later known as Nord.
During the 4th and 5th Centuries,Roman rulers ofGallia Belgica secured the route from the major port ofBononia (Boulogne) toColonia (Cologne), by co-opting Germanic peoples north-east of this corridor, such as theTungri. In effect, the area known later as Nord became anisogloss (linguistic border) between theGermanic andRomance languages.Saxon colonisation of the region from the 5th to the 8th centuries likely shifted the isogloss further south so that, by the 9th century, most people immediately north ofLille spoke a dialect ofOld Dutch. This has remained evident in the place names of the region. After theCounty of Flanders became part of France in the 9th century, the isogloss moved north and east.[4]
Extent ofWest Flemish spoken in the arrondissement of Dunkirk in 1874 and 1972 respectively.
Areas that later constituted Nord were ceded to France by treaties in 1659, 1668, and 1678, becoming the Counties ofFlanders andHainaut, and part of theBishopric of Cambrai.
On 4 March 1790, during theFrench Revolution, Nord became one of the original 83 departments created to replace the counties.
Modern government policies making French the only official language have led to a decline in use of the DutchWest Flemish dialect. There are currently 20,000 speakers of a sub-dialect of West Flemish in the arrondissement of Dunkirk and it appears likely that this particular sub-dialect will be extinct within decades.[4]
Nord is part of the currentHauts-de-Franceregion and is surrounded by the French departments ofPas-de-Calais,Somme, andAisne, as well as byBelgium and theNorth Sea. Its area is 5,742.8 km2 (2,217.3 sq mi).[5] It is the longest department inmetropolitan France, measuring 184 km from Fort-Philippe in the north-west to Anor in the south-east.
Situated in the north of the country along the western half of the Belgian frontier, the department is unusually long and narrow. The principal rivers are the following:Yser,Lys,Escaut,Scarpe,Sambre.
The most populous commune isLille, the prefecture. With nearbyRoubaix,Tourcoing andVilleneuve-d'Ascq, it constitutes the center of a cluster of industrial and former mining towns totalling slightly over a million inhabitants. As of 2019, there are 10 communes with more than 30,000 inhabitants:[3]
Until recently, the department was dominated economically by coal mining, which extended through the heart of the department from neighbouringArtois into centralBelgium.
At the forefront of France's 19th century industrialisation, the area suffered severely duringWorld War I and now faces the economic, social and environmental problems associated with the decline ofcoal mining with its neighbours, following the earlier decline of the Lille-Roubaix textile industry.
The department is served byLille Airport, provides scheduled air service to several cities in France, Europe and some North African countries. However, other airports such asBrussels Airport, and Paris'sCharles de Gaulle Airport andOrly Airport are also used by air travellers from the department.
_et_l%2527estaminet_De_Vierpot_(le_pot_%25C3%25A0_braise).JPG)
