Néchin () is a town of

Wallonia Wallonia ( ; ; or ), officially the Walloon Region ( ; ), is one of the three communities, regions and language areas of Belgium, regions of Belgium—along with Flemish Region, Flanders and Brussels. Covering the southern portion of the c ...

and district of the municipality of

Estaimpuis Estaimpuis ( or ; ; ) is a municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It consists of the following districts: , Estaimbourg, Estaimpuis, , , Néchin, and . The municipality is located in Picardy Wallonia. Geograp ...

, located in the

province of Hainaut A province is an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outside Italy. The term ''provin ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

, near the border with France's

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; ; ), also referred to in English as Upper France, is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. ...

region. It was a municipality until the

fusion of the Belgian municipalities The fusion of the Belgian municipalities (French: ''fusion des communes'', Dutch: ''fusie van Belgische gemeenten'') was a Belgian political process that rationalized and reduced the number of municipalities in Belgium between 1964 and 1983. In 1 ...

in 1977. The village of Néchin has become known for the number of

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

millionaires and billionaires living there. It benefits from its location next to the French border, very close to

Lille Métropole Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

metropolitan area, and from Belgium's tax laws which are advantageous to people with high earnings from stock or capital gains, compared to the laws in France. Members of the

Mulliez family The Association Familiale Mulliez (AFM) is the holding company of the Mulliez family. The entrepreneur family originates from around the Lille area of France, and is one of the wealthiest families in the country. AFM was founded in 1955 by Gér ...

, owners of the

Auchan Auchan () is a French multinational retail group headquartered in Croix, France. It was founded in 1961 by Gérard Mulliez and is owned by the Mulliez family, who has 95% stake in the company. With 354,851 employees, of which 261,000 have 5% ...

hypermarket chain and

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in athletics consisting of 10 track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ἄθλος (''áthlos'', or ἄ ...

sports stores, own a number of properties. The most famous French

tax exile A tax exile is a person who leaves a country to avoid the payment of income tax or other taxes. The term refers to an individual who already owes money to the tax authorities or wishes to avoid being liable in the future for taxation at what they ...

in Néchin is actor

Gérard Depardieu Gérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu (, , ; born 27 December 1948) is a French actor. An icon of French cinema, considered a world star in the same way as Alain Delon or Brigitte Bardot, he has completed over 250 films since 1967, most of which as ...

, who purchased a house there in 2012.

References

Former municipalities of Hainaut (province) {{Hainaut-geo-stub