Roubaix ( or ; nl, Robaais; vls, Roboais) is a city in northern France, located in the

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord ...

metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune in the Nord department, which grew rapidly in the 19th century from its textile industries, with most of the same characteristic features as those of English and American boom towns. This former new town has faced many challenges linked to deindustrialisation such as urban decay, with their related economic and social implications, since its major industries fell into decline by the middle of the 1970s. Located to the northeast of

, adjacent to

Tourcoing Tourcoing (; nl, Toerkonje ; vls, Terkoeje; pcd, Tourco) is a city in northern France on the Belgian border. It is designated municipally as a commune within the department of Nord. Located to the north-northeast of Lille, adjacent to Rouba ...

, Roubaix is the chef-lieu of two cantons and the third largest city in the French

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 ...

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''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. The ...

ranked by population with nearly 99,000 inhabitants.Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019
INSEE Together with the nearby cities of

, Villeneuve-d'Ascq and eighty-six other communes, Roubaix gives structure to a four-centred metropolitan area inhabited by more than 1.1 million people: the

European Metropolis of Lille European, or Europeans, or Europeneans, may refer to: In general * ''European'', an adjective referring to something of, from, or related to Europe ** Ethnic groups in Europe ** Demographics of Europe ** European cuisine, the cuisines of Europe a ...

. To a greater extent, Roubaix is in the center of a vast conurbation formed with the Belgian cities of Mouscron,

Kortrijk Kortrijk ( , ; vls, Kortryk or ''Kortrik''; french: Courtrai ; la, Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray ( ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. It is the capital and larges ...

and

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 Eu ...

, which gave birth to the first European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation in January 2008, '' Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai'' with an aggregate population of over 2 million inhabitants.

Geography

Location

Roubaix occupies a central position on the north-east slope of 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 maj ...

: it is set on the eastern side of

and the southern side of

, close to the Belgian border. As regards towns' boundaries, Roubaix is encompassed by seven cities which constitute its immediate neighbouring environment. These

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the ...

are namely: Tourcoing to the north and the northwest, Wattrelos to the northeast, Leers to the east,

Lys-lez-Lannoy Lys-lez-Lannoy (, literally ''Lys near Lannoy''; West Flemish: ''Lis by Lannoy'') is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. Population Heraldry See also *Communes of the Nord de ...

to the southeast, Hem to the south and Croix to the southwest and the west. Roubaix, alongside those municipalities and twenty-one other communes, belongs to the land of Ferrain, a little district of the former

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant o ...

y of Lille between the Lys and

Scheldt The Scheldt (french: Escaut ; nl, Schelde ) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to ...

rivers. As the crow flies, the distance between Roubaix and the following cities is some odd: to Tournai, to Kortrijk, to

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 to Paris.

Geology

The land upon which Roubaix stands belongs to the plain of Flanders. The Roubaisian area stretches on an

east East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth. Etymology As in other languages, the word is formed from the fa ...

west West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

oriented shallow syncline axis which trends south- southeast to the

Paleozoic The Paleozoic (or Palaeozoic) Era is the earliest of three geologic eras of the Phanerozoic Eon. The name ''Paleozoic'' ( ;) was coined by the British geologist Adam Sedgwick in 1838 by combining the Greek words ''palaiós'' (, "old") and ' ...

limestone Limestone ( calcium carbonate ) is a type of carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different crystal forms of . Limestone forms wh ...

of the

Mélantois The Mélantois () is an inland area of northern France, at south-east of Lille. Between the Deûle and the Marque, it is bounded to the north by a line from Willems Willems is a patronymic surname of Dutch origin, equivalent to Williams. In 2008 ...

- Tournaisis faulted

anticline In structural geology, an anticline is a type of fold that is an arch-like shape and has its oldest beds at its core, whereas a syncline is the inverse of an anticline. A typical anticline is convex up in which the hinge or crest is the ...

. It consists predominantly of

Holocene The Holocene ( ) is the current geological epoch. It began approximately 11,650 cal years Before Present (), after the Last Glacial Period, which concluded with the Holocene glacial retreat. The Holocene and the preceding Pleistocene togeth ...

alluvial Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Al ...

sediment Sediment is a naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice or by the force of gravity acting on the particles. For example, sa ...

depositions. It is flat and low, with an

elevation The elevation of a geographic location is its height above or below a fixed reference point, most commonly a reference geoid, a mathematical model of the Earth's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface (see Geodetic datum § ...

drop of only over its . The lowest

altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...

of this area stands at , while its highest altitude is meters above the sea level.

Hydrology

The Trichon stream fed by waters of the Espierre stream used to flow through the rural

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes th ...

of Roubaix before the industrialisation process began to alter this area in the middle of the 19th century. From that century on, the ensuing industries, with their increasing needs for reliable supplies of goods and water, led to the building of an inland

waterway A waterway is any navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other languages. A first distinction is necessary ...

connected upstream from the Deûle and downstream to the Marque and Espierre toward the Scheldt, which linked directly Roubaix to Lille. Opened in 1877, the Canal de Roubaix crosses the town from its northern neighbourhoods to its eastern neighbourhoods and partially flows along the city's boundaries. The Canal de Roubaix closed in 1985, after more than a century in use. Thank to the European funded project ''Blue Links'', the waterway has been reopened to

boating Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels (such as rowing and paddle boats), focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, suc ...

traffic since 2011.

Climate

The area of the city is not known for undergoing unusual weather events. In regard to the town's geographical location and the results of the Météo-France's

weather station A weather station is a facility, either on land or sea, with instruments and equipment for measuring atmospheric conditions to provide information for weather forecasts and to study the weather and climate. The measurements taken include tempera ...

-Lesquin, Roubaix is 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 ...

: while

summer Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, the earliest sunrise and latest sunset occurs, daylight hours are longest and dark hours are shortest, ...

experiences mild temperatures,

winter Winter is the coldest season of the year in Polar regions of Earth, polar and temperate climates. It occurs after autumn and before spring (season), spring. The tilt of Axial tilt#Earth, Earth's axis causes seasons; winter occurs when a Hemi ...

's temperatures may fall to below zero.

Precipitation In meteorology, precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravitational pull from clouds. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow, ice pellets, graupel and hai ...

is infrequently intense.

Toponymy

The current city's name is most likely derived from Frankish ''rausa'' " reed" and ''baki'' "

brook A brook is a small river or natural stream of fresh water. It may also refer to: Computing *Brook, a programming language for GPU programming based on C *Brook+, an explicit data-parallel C compiler * BrookGPU, a framework for GPGPU programm ...

". Therefore the meaning of ''Roubaix'' can, in all likelihood, find its origin on the banks of its three historical brooks: ''Espierre'', ''Trichon'' and ''Favreuil''. The place was mentioned for the first time in a Latinised form in the 9th century: ''Villa Rusbaci''. Thereafter, the following names were in use: 1047 and 1106 ''Rubais'', 1122 ''Rosbays'', 1166 ''Rusbais'', 1156 and 1202 ''Robais'', 1223 ''Roubais''. Over the span of centuries, the name evolved to ''Roubaix'' as shown on Mercator's map of Flanders published at

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest City status in Belgium, city of the Provinces of Belgium, province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. Th ...

in 1540. Parallel to the official and usual name ''Roubaix'', some translations are worth a mention. Firstly, though the city has never belonged to the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium ...

-speaking area, the seldom-heard renderings ''Robeke'' and ''Roodebeeke'' are documented for ''Roubaix''. Furthermore, the Dutch Language Union established ''Robaais'' as the city's proper Dutch name. Lastly, one can cite ''Rosbacum'' as the definite

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 ...

transcription of ''Roubaix'' which has been in use since the 19th century, as recorded on dedication statements sealed in the first stones of the foundations of the City Hall laid in 1840 and the Church of Notre Dame laid in 1842.

History

Heraldry

People

Inhabitants of Roubaix are known in English as "Roubaisians" and in French as ''Roubaisiens'' () or in the feminine form ''Roubaisiennes'' (), also natively called ''Roubaignots'' () or in the feminine form ''Roubaignotes'' ().

Demographics

The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known through the population censuses carried out in the town since 1793 and the research study of Louis-Edmond Marissal, Clerk of the Peace of the city, published in 1844. Roubaix evolved into a provincial market town until the end of the Early modern period with a census population of 4,715 inhabitants in 1716. By the late 18th century, the city began to emerge as regional textile manufacturing centre and its population increased, reaching a level of 8,091 in 1800. As a result of the industrialisation process of the 19th century, the need of workers was supplied by rural flight as well as immigration. Belgian settlement was a feature of the Roubaisian life at that time. During the first-half period of the 19th century, Roubaix ranked the first French town in terms of

population growth rate Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. Actual global human population growth amounts to around 83 million annually, or 1.1% per year. The global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to ...

with a five times increase, whereas in the remaining period of this century its population doubled. Within this last time framework, Belgian immigration appeared to be one of the major factor to explain the significantly high population growth, with 30,465 Belgian inhabitants counted in 1866 and 42,103 in 1872. Nonetheless, the rate of natural increase shew to be a more important component of the population growth in that period. At the 20th century threshold, the Roubaisian population reached a peak of 124,661, from which it progressively declined over the successive decades. Occupied by German troops from October 1914 to October 1918, Roubaix belonged to the combat zone of the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

during the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

. Over this occupation period, Roubaisians suffered from dearth,

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

for

compulsory labour Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, violence including death, or other forms of ex ...

and unusual casualties with a rather slight population drop from 122,723 to 113,265 between the 1911 and 1921 censuses. The population of the city was 98,828 as of January 2019. This enables Roubaix to remain the third largest municipality in the region

, after Lille and

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

Languages

Although the region of Roubaix was subjected many times to the domination of Flanders' rulers throughout its history, Roubaisians have used a local Picard variant as the language of everyday life for centuries. This spoken

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

is locally known as ''Roubaignot''. Until the early 20th century this patois prevailed. Therefore, French language progressive penetration into local culture should not only be analysed as a result of the industrialisation and urbanisation of the area but should also be considered in terms of

public education State schools (in England, Wales, Australia and New Zealand) or public schools (Scottish English and North American English) are generally primary or secondary schools that educate all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in pa ...

policies.

Religion

Christianity

The city of Roubaix is divided into six Catholic parishes and belongs to the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or reside ...

of the same name in the

archdiocese of Lille The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Lille (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Insulensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse de Lille'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Its cathedral episcopal see is a Marian Minor Basilic ...

Judaism

In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, many

Jews Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

left their homes and emigrated. Jewish arrival in Roubaix derives from that bitter period of history. At the time, the new immigrant community, even though its small size, dedicated a building to Jewish

faith Faith, derived from Latin ''fides'' and Old French ''feid'', is confidence or trust in a person, thing, or In the context of religion, one can define faith as "belief in God or in the doctrines or teachings of religion". Religious people often ...

and

liturgical Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...

practises. The newly opened synagogue, located in a house at number 51 on the narrow ''rue des Champs'', operated more than 60 years, until 1939, when it was closed under imprecise local circumstances as the

Nazi regime Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

took over in Europe. Despite the closure of the synagogue, the occupation and police raids, the local practise of

Judaism Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...

saw a humble revival after the war which lasted until the start of the 1990s when the modest Jewry of Roubaix handed over its Sefer Torah to the care of the Jewish community of Lille. Roubaix has no longer been home to a Jewish place of worship since that event. The house inside which the first one was created 123 years ago, has been demolished since an

urban renewal Urban renewal (also called urban regeneration in the United Kingdom and urban redevelopment in the United States) is a program of land redevelopment often used to address urban decay in cities. Urban renewal involves the clearing out of bligh ...

project occurred in 2000. On September 10, 2015, the mayor unveiled a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, typically attached to a wall, stone, or other ...

on the ''rue des Champs'', as a tribute to the Roubaisian Jewry, in memory of the religious purpose of this previous building.

Islam

As of August 2013 there were six

mosque A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a Place of worship, place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers (sujud) ...

s in the town, including one under construction. According to estimates by the mayor's office, around 20,000 people, or about 20 percent of the population were

Muslims Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abra ...

. Four areas of the cemetery were designated for Muslims.

Buddhism

During the second half of the 20th century, the city took in Buddhist communities from originally Buddhist countries in the Southeast Asian peninsula including

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

, Laos,

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, and

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making it ...

. Within this background Roubaix has brought together two Buddhist traditions on its territory, hence cultural variations across communities:

Mahāyāna ''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...

and Theravāda with, respectively, one and four places of worship.

Urbanism

Urban geography

During the Middle Age, the city grew in a northward-facing semicircle around its primitive core, beyond the area spread out between the church Saint Martin and the former fortified castle. The existence of this south boundary remained until the 18th century and marked an urban expansion which mainly occurred on the western and northern sides of the town. Increasing industrialisation, land transport improvement, continued population growth and the resulting need for suitable low cost lands for housing and manufacturing plants, all of which finally led to expand the city southward from the centre, in the 19th century.

Administrative and political affairs

Constituencies and cantons

Roubaix grouped four cantons from 1988 to 2012. Since then, this number has fallen to two with ''Roubaix 1'' and ''Roubaix 2''. After the last redistricting of French legislative constituencies in 2010, the city is now divided into two

constituencies An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polit ...

Nord's 7th constituency The 7th constituency of the Nord is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Nord (French department), Nord departments of France, ''département''. Description Nord's 7th constituency includes the western portion of Rou ...

which include the former canton of ''Roubaix-Ouest'' and

Nord's 8th constituency The 8th constituency of the Nord is a French legislative Constituency (France), constituency in the Nord (French department), Nord departments of France, ''département''. Description Nord's 8th constituency covers three of the four (pre-2015) ...

formed by the following former cantons: ''Roubaix-Centre'', ''Roubaix-Nord'' and ''Roubaix-Est''.

Administrative zoning

Eastern district neighbourhoods

* Fraternité * Pile * Sainte-Elisabeth * Sartel-Carihem * Trois Ponts

Western district neighbourhoods

* Epeule * Fresnoy-Mackellerie * Trichon

Central district neighbourhoods

* Anseelme Motte-Bossut * Barbieux * Centre-ville * Crouy * Espérance * Nations-Unies * Vauban

Northern district neighbourhoods

* Alma-Gare * Armentières * Cul de Four * Entrepont * Fosses aux Chênes * Hommelet * Hutin-Oran-Cartigny

Southern district neighbourhoods

* Chemin Neuf * Edouard Vaillant * Hauts-Champs * Justice * Linné-Boulevards * Moulin * Nouveau Roubaix * Petites-Haies * Potennerie

Mayors of the city

International relations

Roubaix is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Bradford, United Kingdom, since 1969 *

Mönchengladbach Mönchengladbach (, li, Jlabbach ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located west of the Rhine, halfway between Düsseldorf and the Dutch border. Geography Municipal subdivisions Since 2009, the territory of Mönchengladba ...

, Germany, since 1969 *

Verviers Verviers (; wa, Vervî) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Liège, Belgium. The municipality consists of the following districts: Ensival, Heusy, Lambermont, Petit-Rechain, Stembert, and Verviers. It is also ...

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 ...

, since 1969 *

Skopje Skopje ( , , ; mk, Скопје ; sq, Shkup) is the capital and largest city of North Macedonia. It is the country's political, cultural, economic, and academic centre. The territory of Skopje has been inhabited since at least 4000 BC; ...

North Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Socialist Feder ...

, since 1973 * Prato, Italy, since 1981 *

Sosnowiec Sosnowiec is an industrial city county in the Dąbrowa Basin of southern Poland, in the Silesian Voivodeship, which is also part of the Silesian Metropolis municipal association.—— Located in the eastern part of the Upper Silesian Indust ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

, since 1993 * Covilhã,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, In recognized minority languages of Portugal: :* mwl, República Pertuesa is a country located on the Iberian Peninsula, in Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Macaronesian ...

, since 2000 *

Bouïra Bouïra is the capital of Bouïra Province, Algeria. The city is also called "Garanda" by the locals. Demographics It has 75,086 inhabitants as of the 1998 census,http://www.joradp.dz/JO2000/2002/047/FP15.pdf which gives it 15 seats in the PM ...

Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , coordinates = , largest_city = capital , religi ...

, since 2003

Landmarks

Remarkable buildings, old brick factories and warehouses abound in this once renowned city which was esteemed to be a

world In its most general sense, the term "world" refers to the totality of entities, to the whole of reality or to everything that is. The nature of the world has been conceptualized differently in different fields. Some conceptions see the worl ...

wide textile capital in the early years of the 20th century. Thus, the city inherited one of the most architectural works in the French history and culture of the 19th century

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 ...

and was designated Town of Art and History on December 13, 2000. Ever since the Ministry of Culture endowed Roubaix with this label, the city has entered the 21st century by promoting its cultural standing as the inheritance of its industrial and social history. Several profane or sacral buildings of Roubaix are registered as historic monuments. ;Secular buildings registered as "monuments historiques" file:Centre_médical_Barbieux.jpg, Barbieux health centre file:Roubaix_ENSAIT.jpg, ENSAIT file:Roubaix hotel.jpg, Prouvost private mansion file:16leclerc.jpg,

Art nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Moder ...

house file:Roubaix_maison_28_rue_du_Maréchal-Foch.jpg, Three-storey stately house file:Roubaix maison cogghe.JPG, Rémy Cogghe's house file:Roubaix_palais_justice.jpg, Law court file:Roubaix_reservoir_Huchon.jpg, Huchon water tower file:Roubaix archives travail 2.JPG, National Archives of the Working World\ file:Tourcoing.-Palais Vaissier rue de Mouvaux MH PA00107841 (4).jpg, Concierge of the demolished

Palais Vaissier The Palais Vaissier (also called the Château Vassier or Palais du Congo), was a large Orientalist mansion in Tourcoing, Nord, ( France), which served as the distinctive home of industrialist Victor Vaissier. It was designed by French architect ...

;Religious structures registered as "monuments historiques" file:PA59000169_couvant_des_Clarisses_de_Roubaix_-_Nord.jpg, Convent of Clarisses file:RoubaixAncienneEgliseNotreDame.JPG, Deconsecrated Church Notre-Dame file:Roubaix - Église Saint-Martin 01.jpg, Church Saint-Martin

Sculptures and memorials

The city has been the place where illustrious names of French sculptors put their skills to create memorial monuments since the end of the 19th century until the middle of the 20th century. After a long slack period 2010 introduced a shift in the genre with the unveiling of Wim Delvoye's Discobolos, a statue of modern art conceived as a welcoming sign to a neighbourhood of the city. The sculptures and memorial monuments in Roubaix which deserve notice for their historical or artistical interest are mentioned below. * Discobolos: Wim Delvoye (sculptor), Bruno Dupont (mediator),

Fondation de France The Fondation de France ("Foundation of France") is an independent administrative agency which was established by the French government in an effort to stimulate and foster the growth of private philanthropy and private foundations in France.Fonda ...

and city of Roubaix (supporters), ordered by the neighbourhood residents with the members of the Hommelet neighbourhood committeeA local association (as per the 1901 law about association) called "''Comité de quartier de l'Hommelet''" and inaugurated on June 5, 2010 *

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the corona ...

statue: Maxime Real del Sarte (sculptor), inaugurated on May 27, 1952 * Memorial to Jean-Baptiste Lebas: Albert de Jaeger (sculptor), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on October 23, 1949 * Memorial to

Resistance Resistance may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Either of two similarly named but otherwise unrelated comic book series, both published by Wildstorm: ** ''Resistance'' (comics), based on the video game of the same title ** ''T ...

Martyrs of Roubaix: Albert de Jaeger (sculptor), engraved "''Roubaix a ses martyrs de la Résistance''" and "''Ils ont brisé les chaînes de l'oppression''","Roubaix has its martyrs of the Resistance" and "They broke the chains of oppression" ordered by the City council and inaugurated on November 11, 1948 * Memorial to Eugène Motte: Raoul Bénard (sculptor), Gustave Poubel (architect), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on September 22, 1935 * Memorial to

Jean-Joseph Weerts Jean-Joseph Weerts (1 May 1846, Roubaix - 28 September 1927, Paris) was a French painter of Belgian origin who worked in the Academic style. Biography His father was a mechanical engineer who gave him his first introduction to drawing. Later ...

: Alexandre Descatoire (sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on October 29, 1931 * Memorial to Louis Bossut: Maxime Real del Sarte (sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on October 4, 1925 * Monuments aux Morts or World War I Memorial of Roubaix: Alexandre Descatoire (sculptor), Jean-Frédéric Wielhorski (architect), engraved "''Roubaix à ses enfants morts pour la défense du pays et pour la paix''","Roubaix to his children died in defense of the country and for peace" ordered by the City council and inaugurated on October 18, 1925 * Memorial to Jules Guesde: Georgette Agutte-Sembat (sculptor), Albert Bührer (architect), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on April 12, 1925 * Memorial to Amédée Prouvost:

Hippolyte Lefèbvre Hippolyte-Jules Lefèbvre (4 February 1863, Lille - November 1935, Arcueil) was a French sculptor and medallist who received numerous official marks of recognition in his day but is now largely forgotten. His most prominent works are the monumen ...

(sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on October 29, 1922 * Memorial to Pierre Destombes: Corneille Theunissen (sculptor), engraved "''Hortorum, Musicae, Librorumque, Studiosus''","Friend of the gardens, music and books" ordered by the City council and inaugurated on October 29, 1922 * Memorial to Gustave Nadaud:

Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier (1848–1930) was a French sculptor. Born in La Madeleine, Nord, Cordonnier was educated in nearby Lille, then in Paris, then in Rome, on a scholarship funded by the foundation of Jean-Baptiste Wicar. Cordonnier w ...

(sculptor), Gustave Leblanc-Barbedienne (art founder), inaugurated on October 11, 1896

Culture

Museums

Roubaix has been home to two major museums of the region Hauts-de-France since the beginning of the 21st century: '' La Piscine''"The Swimming Pool" and ''La Manufacture'';"The Manufactory" inheriting both of the local socioeconomic history. ''La Piscine'', also known as the ''Musée d'Art & d'Industrie André Diligent'',"André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry" is one of the most lauded cultural attractions in northern France. This museum is housed in the

Art Deco Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...

-style former swimming pool of Roubaix, a building remodelled in 2000 to accommodate and exhibit 19th and 20th century collections of the city.The collections held at the museum include sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel and

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th century, he is ...

After being closed for two years of renovation works and extension, it was reopened to the public in October 2018, becoming more successful than ever before. ''La Manufacture'' is the reference textile museum in northern France. It is hosted in an old

weaving Weaving is a method of textile production in which two distinct sets of yarns or threads are interlaced at right angles to form a fabric or cloth. Other methods are knitting, crocheting, felting, and braiding or plaiting. The longitudin ...

factory.

Painting

The most prestigious names of painters, who made their reputation in Roubaix from the middle of the 19th century to the early 20th century are

and

Rémy Cogghe Rémy Cogghe, originally spelled Rémi Coghe
from ''Mémoires'', a monthly newslet ...

. From the end of the Second World War to the beginning of the 1970s, a casual group of young artists from Roubaix and the surrounding region was formed and given the name ''Groupe de Roubaix''. Two painters commonly associated with the group are Arthur Van Hecke and Eugène Leroy.

Fashion

Anxious to restore the prestige of northern France's textile industry and operating under the label of ''Maisons de Mode'', the cities of Lille and Roubaix have created spaces for new

fashion design Fashion design is the art of applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction and natural beauty to clothing and its accessories. It is influenced by culture and different trends, and has varied over time and place. "A fashion designer creates c ...

ers to thrive since 2007. The Roubaisian location, next to ''La Piscine'' museum, is known as ''Le Vestiaire''.The Cloakroom There are fifteen boutiques and fashion

studio A studio is an artist or worker's workroom. This can be for the purpose of acting, architecture, painting, pottery (ceramics), sculpture, origami, woodworking, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, industrial design, ...

s housed in an old industrial building.

Theatre and performing arts centres

* Centre chorégraphique national Roubaix - Hauts-de-FranceNational choreographic centre Roubaix - Hauts-de-France * Colisée * Condition publique * Théâtre de l'Oiseau-Mouche "Le Garage" * Théâtre Louis Richard * Théâtre Pierre de Roubaix

Cinema

The city of Roubaix was the filming location (mostly or partly) of the following films: * '' I Am a Soldier'' (French: ''Je suis un soldat''), directed by Laurent Larivière in 2015 * ''

My Golden Days ''My Golden Days'' (french: Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse), also titled ''My Golden Years'', is a 2015 French drama film directed by Arnaud Desplechin. It stars Quentin Dolmaire, Lou Roy-Lecollinet, and Mathieu Amalric. It is a prequel to the ...

'' (French: ''Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse''), directed by Arnaud Desplechin in 2015 * ''

Discount Discount may refer to: Arts and entertainment *Discount (band), punk rock band that formed in Vero Beach, Florida in 1995 and disbanded in 2000 * ''Discount'' (film), French comedy-drama film * "Discounts" (song), 2020 single by American rapper Cu ...

'', directed by Louis-Julien Petit in 2014 * '' Queens of the Ring'' (French: ''Les Reines du ring''), directed by Jean-Marc Rudnicki in 2013 * ''

Blue Is the Warmest Colour ''Blue Is the Warmest Colour'' (french: link=yes, La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2; ) is a 2013 romance film co-written, co-produced, and directed by Abdellatif Kechiche and starring Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos. The film foll ...

'' (French: ''La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2''), directed by Abdellatif Kechiche in 2013 * '' A Christmas Tale'' (French: ''Un conte de Noël''), directed by Arnaud Desplechin in 2008 * '' The Banishment'' (Russian: ''Изгнание'', ''Izgnanie''), directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev in 2007 * '' In His Hands'' (French: ''Entre ses mains''), directed by Anne Fontaine in 2005 * '' The Axe'' (French: ''Le couperet''), directed by Costa-Gavras in 2005 * ''Save Me'' (French: ''Sauve-Moi''), directed by Christian Vincent in 2000 * ''Flat Land Cities'' (French: ''Les Cités de la plaine''), directed by Robert Kramer in 1999 * '' The Dreamlife of Angels'' (French: ''La Vie rêvée des anges''), directed by

Erick Zonca Érick Zonca is a French film director and screenwriter. His first films were shorts ''Rives'' (1992), ''Eternelles'' (1995), and '' Seule'' (1997). Zonca is best known for his critically acclaimed and award-winning 1998 feature film debut '' ...

in 1998 * '' Enigma'', directed by

Jeannot Szwarc Jeannot Szwarc (born November 21, 1939) is a French director of film and television, known for such films as ''Jaws 2'', ''Somewhere in Time'', ''Supergirl'' and '' Santa Claus: The Movie''. He has also produced and written for TV. Life and ca ...

in 1982 * '' Life Is a Long Quiet River'' (French: ''La vie est un long fleuve tranquille''), directed by Étienne Chatiliez in 1988 * '' Hurricane Rosy'' (Italian: ''Temporale Rosy'', French: ''Rosy la bourrasque''), directed by Mario Monicelli in 1979 * '' Swimming Instructor'' (French: ''Le Maître-nageur''), directed by Jean-Louis Trintignant in 1979 * '' Body of My Enemy'' (French: ''Le Corps de mon ennemi''), directed by Henri Verneuil in 1976 * '' A Sunday in Hell'' (Danish: ''En Forårsdag i Helvede''), Danish documentary directed by Jørgen Leth in 1976 * '' The Confession'' (French: ''L'Aveu''), directed by

Costa Gavras Costa-Gavras (short for Konstantinos Gavras; el, Κωνσταντίνος Γαβράς; born 12 February 1933) is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for films with political and s ...

in 1970 * ''Struggle in Italy'' (Italian: ''Lotte in Italia''), directed by the

Dziga Vertov Group The Dziga Vertov Group (french: Groupe Dziga Vertov) was formed around 1969 by politically active filmmakers including Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Gorin. Their films are defined primarily for Brechtian forms, Marxist ideology, and a lack of per ...

in 1970

Higher education

* The EDHEC Business School is one of the few Grandes École located outside the Paris Metropolitan Area. It is one of Europe's fastest rising business schools. * ENSAIT is a higher education and research institute, gathering all the disciplines related to textiles. * ESAAT is a design education institute. * Decentralisation of the Universities of Lille II and Lille III

Libraries

* Médiathèque "La Grand'Plage" * National Archives of the World of Work

Sport

Roubaix has an old sporting heritage and is home to the finishing of one of the world's oldest races of professional road cycling at its

velodrome A velodrome is an arena for track cycling. Modern velodromes feature steeply banked oval tracks, consisting of two 180-degree circular bends connected by two straights. The straights transition to the circular turn through a moderate easement c ...

: Paris–Roubaix, known as the ''Hell of the North''. While Roubaix is famous for its velodrome, there is more to this city than the cycling sports facilities. The building of indoor and outdoor sports amenities in the city should be associated with its era of economic rise during the industrial revolution, in addition to the development of local sporting clubs and associations. In October 2021 Roubaix hosted the 2021 UCI Track Cycling World Championships.

Economy

During the 19th century, Roubaix acquired an international reputation for textile industry and wool production. In the 1970s and 1980s, international competition and automation caused an industrial decline and resulted in the closure of many factories. From that moment on and since the implementation of the French urban policy in the early 1980s, around three-fourths of the town's territory has been regularly assigned specific zoning designations as well as health and welfare plans. Roubaix's high level of unemployment is a consequence of the desindustrialisation. The town is listed among France's poorest cities. Successive local governments have tried to address difficulties associated with deindustrialisation by attracting new industries, making the most of the town's cultural credentials and organising a strong student presence on different campuses. While undergoing conversion efforts, the city is experimenting with new models and able to take advantage of successful economic stories, with online retail and

information technology Information technology (IT) is the use of computers to create, process, store, retrieve, and exchange all kinds of data . and information. IT forms part of information and communications technology (ICT). An information technology system ...

, and seems to be on the way to reverse the decades of decline.

Textile industry

Nowadays, local textile companies are focussing on developing high-tech textile products.

Commerce and services

Mail order companies of international renown such as

La Redoute La Redoute is a French multi channel retailer founded by Joseph Pollet in 1837. La Redoute specialises in ready to wear apparel and home decor, La Redoute is the 2nd largest seller of women's apparel and the 3rd largest seller of linens in Fra ...

, Damart and

3 Suisses 3 Suisses is a French mail order and e-commerce company, with headquarters in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. It is the biggest of the 16 e-commerce brands of . Everett Hutt is the current CEO as of 2022. Since 1981, Otto GmbH owned a 51% in the company and ...

, stemmed from textile industries which were founded in Roubaix. Showroomprive.com has been locally established since 2016 as an

e-commerce E-commerce (electronic commerce) is the activity of electronically buying or selling of products on online services or over the Internet. E-commerce draws on technologies such as mobile commerce, electronic funds transfer, supply chain mana ...

company that specialises in online flash sales.

Information technology and e-business

* OVH was created in Roubaix in 1999 and became a global IT infrastructure company, creating more than thousand jobs in the city and surroundings. Its head office is still in Roubaix. * Ankama Games has established its head office in Roubaix since 2007. * Blanchemaille, an e-commerce cluster helped by the incubator EuraTechnologies, has been established in the former building of

in Roubaix since 2014.

Infrastructure

Transportation

A22 autoroute, a French part of the European route E17 from

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

to Antwerp, is the only motorway, within a motorway roads network of the highest density in France after Paris, which passes by Roubaix. The

Gare de Roubaix Roubaix station (French: ''Gare de Roubaix'') is a railway station serving the town Roubaix, Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American non ...

railway station offers connections to Antwerp, Lille,

Ostend Ostend ( nl, Oostende, ; french: link=no, Ostende ; german: link=no, Ostende ; vls, Ostende) is a coastal city and municipality, located in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It comprises the boroughs of Mariake ...

, Paris and Tourcoing. The city is also served by the Lille Metro.

Environmental perspectives

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s desindustrialisation dramatically influenced major urban landscapes across the arrondissement of Lille. Large areas of brownfield land came to mark the city of Roubaix. With the support of the local and national government programs, these areas are acquired and gradually restored or rebuilt. Roubaix has one of the most efficient biomass district heating plant in France and is therefore among the most advanced cities for

sustainability Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...

in Hauts-de-France. Since 2014, the city has been engaged in several related initiatives aimed at moving to a circular economy and a

zero waste Zero waste is a set of principles focused on waste prevention that encourages redesigning resource life cycles so that all products are reused. The goal of this movement is to avoid sending trash to landfills, incinerators, or the ocean. Cur ...

future.

Notable people

Artists

* Jean-Robert de Cavel (September 12, 1961 – December 23, 2022): Chef. * Wanani Gradi Mariadi (1990–): rapper known as ''Gradur'' * Kaddour Hadadi (1976–): singer and author known as ''HK'' * Philippe Dhondt (1965–): singer, songwriter and composer known as ''Boris'' * Arnaud Desplechin (1960–): film director *

Édouard Devernay Édouard Henri Devernay Jnr. (8 November 1889 – 5 July 1952) was a French musician, composer and organist who held the position of ''organiste titulaire'' of the great organ of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires in Trouville-sur-Mer, Calvados, Norman ...

(1889–1952): Organist, composer * Wladyslaw Znorko (1958–2013): theatre author and director * Philippe Barraqué (1954–):

musicologist Musicology (from Greek μουσική ''mousikē'' 'music' and -λογια ''-logia'', 'domain of study') is the scholarly analysis and research-based study of music. Musicology departments traditionally belong to the humanities, although some m ...

, music therapist, composer and singer * Étienne Chatiliez (1952–): film director *

Roger Delmotte Roger Delmotte (born 20 September 1925) is a French classical trumpeter. Life Born in Roubaix, Delmotte first played the flugelhorn, a wind instrument, in a French wind musical ensemble. After his first studies with Maurice Leclercq at the Rouba ...

(1925–): classical trumpeter * Philippe Lefebvre (1949–): musician, principal organist of Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris * Chantal Ladesou (1948–): actress and comedian * Agnès Guillemot (1931–2005): film editor *

Pierre Jansen Pierre Georges Cornil Jansen (28 February 1930 – 13 August 2015 at Saint-Pierre-Saint-Jean) was a French film scores composer. He was in particular the permanent collaborator of Claude Chabrol for whom he composed the music for many films. Li ...

(1930–2015): film music composer * Jenny Clève (1930–): actress * Elisabeth Yvonne Scatcherd (1928–): film actress known as ''Yvonne Furneaux'' * Charles Gadenne (1925–2012): sculptor * Georges Delerue (1925–1992): composer who worked on over 350 scores for cinema and television * Arthur Van Hecke (1924–2003): painter * Gabrielle Vervaecke (1921–2005): composer and singer known as ''Gaby Verlor'' * Viviane Romance (1912–1991): actress * Albert de Jaeger (1908–1992): sculptor, printmaker, medallist and smelter * Charles Bodart-Timal (1897–1971): songwriter and

chanson A (, , french: chanson française, link=no, ; ) is generally any lyric-driven French song, though it most often refers to the secular polyphonic French songs of late medieval and Renaissance music. The genre had origins in the monophonic ...

nier *

Jules Gressier Jules Gressier, (24 June 1897, in Roubaix (Nord-Pas-de-Calais) – 27 June 1960, in Aix-les-Bains (Rhône-Alpes)Francis Bousquet Francis Bousquet (9 September 1890 – 21 December 1942) was a French composer and music pedagogue. Educated at the Conservatoire de Paris, he won the Prix de Rome in 1923. His compositions included three operas, a ballet, and several symphonic ...

(1890–1942): Marseille-born composer * Léon Mathot (1886–1968): film actor and director * Silas Broux (1867–1957): painter *

(1846–1927): painter *

Rémy Cogghe Rémy Cogghe, originally spelled Rémi Coghe
from ''Mémoires'', a monthly newslet ...

(1846–1927): Belgian-born painter who resided in Roubaix *

Gustave Nadaud Gustave Nadaud (20 February 1820 – 28 April 1893) was a French composer and chansonnier. Career Born in Roubaix, Nadaud's first career was as an accountant; he took up songwriting as a hobby at age 28. His friends encouraged him, and he submi ...

(1820–1893): songwriter and chansonnier

Athletes

Wassim Aouachria Wassim Chouaib Aouachria ( ar, وسيم شعيب عواشرية; born 12 May 2000) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Irish club Waterford. A youth product of Marseille, Aouachria moved to English club Charlton Athletic ...

(2000–): football player *

Ahmed Touba Ahmed Touba (; born 13 March 1998) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a left back or left winger for Süper Lig club İstanbul Başakşehir. Born in France and raised in Belgium, he represents Algeria at international level. ...

(1998–): football player *

Moussa Niakhate Moussa (sometimes spelled Mousa) is both a given name and a surname. It is a Gallicized spelling of the Arabic name '' Mūsā'' ( ar, موسی, "Moses"). Notable people with the name include: Given name: Moussa * Moussa Ag Amastan, Amenokal of the ...

(1996–): football player *

Christoffer Mafoumbi Christoffer Henri Mafoumbi (born 3 March 1994) is a professional Association football, footballer who plays as a Goalkeeper (association football), goalkeeper for FC Noah, Noah in the Armenian Premier League. Born in France, Mafoumbi plays for the ...

(1994–): goalkeeper *

Saoussen Boudiaf Saoussen Dlindah Boudiaf (born 31 December 1993) is a French sabre fencer. She won the gold medal in the women's individual sabre event at the 2022 Mediterranean Games The 2022 Mediterranean Games ( ar, ألعاب البحر الأبيض ال� ...

(1993–): sabre fencer * Anthony Knockaert (1991–): football player *

Aliou Dia Aliou Dia (born 30 May 1990 in Roubaix, France) is a French footballer who last played for FC Brussels, Brussels. Before, Dia has played 17 matches for R.A.E.C. Mons (1910), Mons of the Belgian Pro League, the top league of football in Belgium. ...

(1990–): football player * Antoine Roussel (1989–): ice hockey player *

Pierrick Gunther Pierrick Gunther (born 16 October 1989) is a French rugby union player. His position is Flanker and he plays for the Top 14 team Section Paloise Section Paloise (, Bearnese: ), commonly referred to as ''Section'' or as ''Pau'' , is a profes ...

(1989–):

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

player * Idir Ouali (1988–): football player * Martial Mbandjock (1985–): sprinter *

Seïd Khiter Seïd Khiter ( ar, سيد خيتر; born 19 January 1985) is a French former professional association football, footballer who played as a striker (association football), striker. Club career Khiter was born in Roubaix, Nord (French department) ...

(1985–): football player * Daouda Sow (1983–): boxer * Yero Dia (1982–): football player *

Icham Mouissi Icham Mouissi (born 21 September 1982) is a retired footballer who played as a defender. Born in France, he represented Algeria at under-23 international level. Club career Mouissi made his La Liga debut on 21 June 2003. In 2010, he signed ...

(1982–): Algerian football player *

David Coulibaly David Coulibaly (born 21 January 1978 in Roubaix, France) is a retired footballer. He last played for Entente Sportive de Wasquehal. Born in France, he represented Mali at international level. International career He was capped for Mali at t ...

(1978–): football player *

Arnaud Tournant Arnaud Tournant (born 5 April 1978) is a French track cyclist. He has won 14 World Championships (record of men) and won a gold, silver and a bronze at the Summer Olympics. Biography Tournant was born in Roubaix, near the border with Belgium, an ...

(1978–):

track cyclist Track cycling is a bicycle racing sport usually held on specially built banked tracks or velodromes using purpose-designed track bicycles. History Track cycling has been around since at least 1870. When track cycling was in its infancy, it ...

Christophe Landrin Christophe Landrin (born 30 June 1977 in Roubaix) is a French football (soccer), football midfielder. His brother, Sebastien, is one of the main players of the French national Roller hockey (Quad), rink hockey team. Honours Lille *UEFA Intertot ...

(1977–): football

midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

Jacques-Olivier Paviot Jacques-Olivier Paviot (born 19 December 1976 in Roubaix) is a French former footballer. Paviot spent the latter years of his career in Greece where he achieved celebrity status for his special talent, which was named by the acclaimed Greek ...

(1976–): football player *

Fatiha Ouali Fatiha Ouali (born 25 October 1974 in Roubaix, Nord) is a female race walker from France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas ...

(1974–): race walker * Michel Breistroff (1971–1996):

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player * Pierre Dréossi (1959–): former football player, coach and football manager * Alain Bondue (1959–):

racing cyclist Cycle sport is competitive physical activity using bicycles. There are several categories of bicycle racing including road bicycle racing, cyclo-cross, mountain bike racing, track cycling, BMX, and cycle speedway. Non-racing cyclin ...

* Jean-Christian Lang (1950–): football manager and former player *

Jacques Carette Jacques Carette (born 1 March 1947) is a former athlete from France who competed mainly in the 400 metres. He competed for a France in the 1972 Summer Olympics held in Munich, Germany in the 4 x 400 metre relay where he won the bronze meda ...

(1947–): athlete *

René Libeer René Jules Libeer (28 November 1934 – 12 November 2006) was a French flyweight boxer. Competing as an amateur he won bronze medals at the 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, ...

(1934–2006): boxer *

Jacques Pollet Jacques Pollet (2 July 1922 – 16 August 1997) was a racing driver from France. He participated in 5 Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater ...

(1922–1997): racing driver * Jacques Leenaert (1921–2004): football player * Prudent Joye (1913–1980): track and field athlete * Georges Beaucourt (1912–2002): football player *

Raymond Dubly Raymond Dubly (5 November 1893 – 7 September 1988) was a French international footballer who played for France national football team at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), o ...

(1893–1988): football player *

Jean Alavoine Jean Alavoine (1 April 1888 – 18 July 1943) was a French professional cyclist, who won 17 stages in the Tour de France - only eight riders have won more stages - and wore the yellow jersey for five days. Jean Alavoine was born in Rouba ...

(1888–1943): cyclist * Charles Crupelandt (1886–1955): Wattrelos-born professional

road bicycle racer Road bicycle racing is the cycle sport discipline of road cycling, held primarily on paved roads. Road racing is the most popular professional form of bicycle racing, in terms of numbers of competitors, events and spectators. The two most common ...

Arthur Balbaert Arthur Balbaert (27 May 1879 – 14 October 1938) was a Belgian sports shooter who competed at the 1920 Summer Olympics and the 1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Game ...

(1879–1938): Belgian sports shooter

Politicians and professionals

* Karima Delli (1979–): politician,

Member of the European Parliament A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament. When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Commu ...

Florence Morlighem Florence Morlighem (born 10 April 1970) is a French politician who was Member of Parliament for Nord's 11th constituency The 11th constituency of the Nord is a French legislative constituency in the Nord ''département''. Description Fol ...

(1970–): politician,

Member of Parliament A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house ...

Olivier Henno Olivier Henno (born 21 April 1962 in Roubaix) is a French politician, Mayor (France), mayor of Saint-André-lez-Lille and a member of the Democratic Movement (France), MoDem. Biography A member of the Union for French Democracy (UDF), he was elec ...

(1962–): politician, mayor of Saint-André-lez-Lille and general councillor * Benoît Duquesne (1957–2014): journalist, television reporter and newscaster *

Pierre Pribetich Pierre Pribetich is a French politician, who, from 2007 until 2009, was a Member of the European Parliament representing East France for the Socialist Party. He was appointed following the resignation of Pierre Moscovici Pierre Moscovici (, ...

(1956–): politician, former

Marie-Christine Blandin Marie-Christine Blandin (born 22 September 1952, Roubaix) is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Nord department. She is a member of Europe Écologie–The Greens Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a co ...

(1952–): politician, member of the Senate of France, representing the Nord department * Jean-Luc Brunin (1951–): clergyman, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Havre *

Alex Türk Alex Türk (born 25 January 1950 in Roubaix) is a member of the Senate of France The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the ...

(1950–): politician, member of the

Senate of France The Senate (french: Sénat, ) is the upper house of the French Parliament, with the lower house being the National Assembly, the two houses constituting the legislature of France. The French Senate is made up of 348 senators (''sénateurs'' a ...

, representing the Nord department * Bernard Arnault (1949–): business magnate, investor and art collector *

Bruno Masure Bruno Masure (born 14 October 1947) is a French journalist,Biography of Bruno Masure o ...

(1947–): journalist, news anchor and television presenter * Auguste Mimerel (1786–1871), industrialist and politician * Gérard Mulliez (1931–): businessman, founder of the Auchan chain of department stores * Robert Diligent (1924–2014): journalist, founding members of ''Télé Luxembourg'' * Francis Pollet (1964-): general officer * André Diligent (1919–2002): lawyer and politician,

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

resistance activist, deputy to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the rep ...

, senator-mayor of Roubaix * Marcel Verfaillie (1911–1945): communist militant,

resistance activist against

Nazism Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...

, died in concentration camp * Pierre Herman (1910–1990): politician, deputy to the National Assembly * Pierre Pflimlin (1907–2000): lawyer and politician, last

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

of the Fourth Republic * Raymond Schmittlein (1904–1974): toponymist and politician, deputy to the National Assembly * Jean-Baptiste Lebas (1898–1944): politician, mayor of Roubaix, deputy to the National Assembly,

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

and II resistance activist, died in deportation custody *

Antoine Cordonnier Sous lieutenant Antoine Cordonnier (17 January 1892 – 28 July 1918) was a French flying ace during World War I. He was credited with five aerial victories. Early life Antoine Cordonnier was born on 17 January 1892 in Roubaix, France.''Over the ...

(1892–1918): military aviator,

flying ace A flying ace, fighter ace or air ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The exact number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an ace is varied, but is usually co ...

during World War I *

Jules Dumont Jules Dumont was born in Roubaix, 1 January 1888, and died at Suresnes, Mont Valérien, 15 June 1943. Dumont was a French militant Communist. He fought in the Spanish Civil War, commanding the ''Commune de Paris Battalion'', XI International B ...

(1888–1943): communist militant, commanded the ''Commune de Paris Battalion'', a unit part of the XI International Brigade * Jean Prouvost (1885–1978): businessman, media owner and politician * Agnello van den Bosch (1883–1945): Belgian Catholic Franciscan priest (OFM), founder and president of the Belgian National Work for the

Blind Blind may refer to: * The state of blindness, being unable to see * A window blind, a covering for a window Blind may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Blind'' (2007 film), a Dutch drama by Tamar van den Dop * ''Blind' ...

, died in concentration camp * Louis Loucheur (1872–1931): writer and politician, deputy to the National Assembly *

Ferdinand Bonnel Rev. Fr. Ferdinand Bonnel, S.J., born on 31 August 1865 in Roubaix, France, and died on 7 May 1945 in Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, was a French Jesuit priest. Biography Bonnel was trained as novitiate of the Society of Jesus in Gemert, Netherlands, ...

(1865–1945): Jesuit

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...

in Sri Lanka * Théodore Vienne (1864–1921): textile manufacturer and co-founder of Paris–Roubaix cycle race * Eugène Motte (1860–1932): politician and businessman, mayor of Roubaix, deputy to the National Assembly *

Pierre Wibaux Pierre Wibaux (January 12, 1858 – March 21, 1913) was a French cattle owner and ranchman in Montana and North Dakota at the turn of the 20th century. He immigrated from his native France to seek business opportunities in America and was a ...

(1858–1913): cattle-rancher, banker and gold-mine owner, emigrated from France to the United States * Jules Guesde (1845–1922): Paris-born socialist journalist and politician, deputy of the constituency of Roubaix to the National Assembly *

Jean Desbouvrie Jean Desbouvrie (18 February 1843- 18 August 1905) was a French amateur bird trainer who believed that swallows could be put to use for military communications. During the late 19th century Desbouvrie persuaded the government of France to condu ...

(c. 1840–1847-?): inventor and bird tamer *

Gérard Vachonfrance Gérard Vachonfrance (30 March 1933, in Roubaix – 31 December 2008), was a French physician. He was a co-founder of the ''Société française d'alcoologie'' (French Society of Alcohology). Vachonfrance and Pierre Fouquet were pioneers of alco ...

(1933–2008): physician and society co-founder *

Marie Léonie Vanhoutte Marie Léonie Vanhoutte, also known by the pseudonym Charlotte Lameron (1888 – 1967) was a French Resistance fighter and secret agent during World War I who worked at the French-Belgium border. Early life Marie Léonie Vanhoutte was born on 1 ...

(1888–1967): French

resistance fighter A resistance movement is an organized effort by some portion of the civil population of a country to withstand the legally established government or an occupying power and to disrupt civil order and stability. It may seek to achieve its objective ...

and secret-agent during

Scientists

* Stanislas Dehaene (1965–): cognitive

psychologist A psychologist is a professional who practices psychology and studies mental states, perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and social processes and behavior. Their work often involves the experimentation, observation, and interpretation of how ...

, professor at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris ...

and author * Bernard Amadei (1954–): professor of civil engineering at the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, founder of Engineers Without Borders (USA) * Dominique Mulliez (1952–): epigrapher, archaeologist and Hellenist * Marguerite Dupire (1920–2015):

ethnologist Ethnology (from the grc-gre, ἔθνος, meaning 'nation') is an academic field that compares and analyzes the characteristics of different peoples and the relationships between them (compare cultural, social, or sociocultural anthropology) ...

Robert Jonckhèere Robert Jonckheere (25 July 1888, Roubaix – 27 June 1974, Marseille) was a French astronomer. He is known for his discovery of more than 3350 double stars. A. R. Jonckheere, psychologist and statistician at University College London, was his ...

(1888–1974):

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses their studies on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. They observe astronomical objects such as stars, planets, moons, comets and galaxies – in either o ...

Joseph Willot Joseph Willot (1876–1919) was a French pharmacist at the Catholic University of Lille The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide ...

(1875–1919): pharmacist and World War I resistance activist

Writers

Marie Desplechin Marie Desplechin (born Roubaix, Nord, 7 January 1959) is a French writer. She studied literature and journalism before becoming a writer. She is the author of several children's novels and ''Taking it to Heart'', a collection of short stories. '' ...

(1959–): writer and journalist * Pierre Pierrard (1920–2005): historian * Michel Décaudin (1919–2004): Romance

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Lingui ...

, literature professor and author * Richard Cobb (1917–1996): British social historian. Lived in Roubaix in the 1940s. * Octave Vandekerkhove (1911–1987): writer *

Maxence Van Der Meersch Maxence Van der Meersch (4 May 1907 – 14 January 1951) was a French Flemish writer. Life Maxence, of delicate health, came from a relatively well off family — his father was an accountant. On 27 October 1918, he lost his sister, Sarah, who w ...

(1907–1951): writer * Maurice Nédoncelle (1905–1976): personalist philosopher * Yanette Delétang-Tardif (1902–1976): poet * Amédée Prouvost (1877–1909): poet *

Jules Feller Jules Feller (4 November 1859 – 29 April 1940) was a Belgian academician and Walloon militant. Biography Jules Feller created the of spelling for the Walloon language. This is also used for writing the Picard language since a consensus ...

(1859–1940): Romance linguist and

philologist Philology () is the study of language in oral and written historical sources; it is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics (with especially strong ties to etymology). Philology is also defined as ...

, Belgian

academician An academician is a full member of an artistic, literary, engineering, or scientific academy. In many countries, it is an honorific title used to denote a full member of an academy that has a strong influence on national scientific life. In syst ...

and Walloon militant

Notes and references

Notes

References

Bibliography

External links

Tourist office website

Website of the museum of art and industry

LeBlog2Roubaix.Com (videoblog and WebTv about Roubaix)
* {{Authority control Communes of Nord (French department) French Flanders