Petite-Synthe (; ) is a former commune of the Nord ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' in northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. The commune of

Saint-Pol-sur-Mer Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (, literally ''Saint-Pol on Sea''; ; Picard: ''Saint-Po-dsu-Mér'') is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France. Since 9 December 2010, it is part of the commune of Dunkirk.Dunkerque Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

absorbed Petite-Synthe and Rosendaël. In 1980, a large part of Petite-Synthe was detached from Dunkerque and merged into Grande-Synthe.

Industry

Petite-Synthe was the location of several industrial companies:

Decauville

The Decauville factory in Petite-Synthe produced prefabricated narrow gauge

railway track Railway track ( and UIC terminology) or railroad track (), also known as permanent way () or "P way" ( and Indian English), is the structure on a railway or railroad consisting of the rails, fasteners, sleepers ( railroad ties in American ...

and

rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles, including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives, Railroad car#Freight cars, freight and Passenger railroad car, passenger cars (or coaches) ...

from 1903 to 1922. The factory belonged to ''Etablissements Decauville ainé'', a French manufacturer focussing on the production and sales of narrow gauge railway material. The factory was located near the Aciéries de France. The plant produced narrow gauge railway equipment for the colonies. It was sold in 1922 and its activities were taken over by the Decauville factory in Marquette-lez-Lille.Roger Bailly
''Decauville, ce nom qui fit le tour du monde.''
Le Éd. Amattéis, Le Mée-sur-Seine, 1989, ISBN 2-86849-076-X (Also available vi
''Gallica''
, p. 54 and 57.

Carell & Fouché

The Carell & Fouché factory in Petite-Synthe was built on a plot of forty hectares, ten of which are built on, along the Bourbourg Canal, adjoining the territory of Grande Synthe. Its location allowed transport by the canal by rail and increasingly by road. It changed its name to Societe des Ateliers des Deux-Synthe, Venot-Pesselin, and Carrel-Fouche-Languepin. The factory had employed up to 400 people before

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Business took a turn for the worse with the manufacture of the footbridges at Roissy Airport, the construction of which was delayed, and with the cancellation of the delivery of railway equipment during the

Algerian War The Algerian War (also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence) ''; '' (and sometimes in Algeria as the ''War of 1 November'') was an armed conflict between France and the Algerian National Liberation Front (Algeri ...

. The factory closed its doors on 15 April 1971. The other factories in the group were in

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

and Aubevoye. The parent company Carel-Fouché-Industries SA was taken over by the GEC-Alstom Group. It closed permanently in 1989.HISPASEC Petite-Synthe
''L’usine Carell ef Fouché de Petite-Synthe.''
/ref>

Heraldry

References

History of Dunkirk Former communes of Nord (French department) French Flanders {{Nord-geo-stub