Country France Area 62,400 | Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais Mayor Gerard Caudron | |
Colleges and Universities Lille University of Science and Technology, Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III, TELECOM Lille 1, Ecole nationale superieure de chimie de Lille | ||
Villeneuve-dAscq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Urban Community of Lille Metropole and the largest in area (27,46 km²) after Lille; it is also one of the main cities of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region.
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Map of Villeneuve-dAscq
Built up owing to the merger between Ascq, Annappes and Flers-lez-Lille communes, the new town is the cradle of the first automatic metro system of the world (VAL). It was also the scene of a tragic event, the Ascq massacre.
Villeneuve-dAscq is nicknamed the green technopole thanks to the implantation of many researchers - the campus of Lille University of Science and Technology, Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III and many graduate engineering school - and companies in a pleasant living environment. Owing to its activity centres, its Haute Borne European scientific park and two shopping malls, Villeneuve-dAscq is one of the main economic spot of the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region ; multinational corporations such as Bonduelle, Cofidis and Decathlon have their head office there.
Outside its academic, scientific and business facilities, Villeneuve-dAscq is mostly known because of its sporting events - two stadiums are located there and some of its sport teams are playing in the top division - its museums - the most famous is the one about modern, contemporary and outsider art (the LaM) - its green ways and its medical facilities for disabled people.
Name
Its name means "new city of Ascq" in French and is derived from the Dutch word for "ash". The name of the city is generally written without the customary hyphen.
Geography
The city counts approximately 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi) of greenspace, lakes, forests and arable lands. It is located between Lille and Roubaix, at the crossroads of the principal freeways towards Paris, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels.
History
The roots of the city can be traced back to Celtic Gaul, and are anchored in two feudal mounds, a Gallo-Roman site and a Carolingian one.
Its site was selected in the 1960s to accommodate the new town of Lille-Est, which was to channel the development of the agglomeration. The commune of Villeneuve-dAscq was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the communes of Ascq, Annappes and Flers. Its name evokes at the same time the new city and the memory of Ascq, martyr city of 1 April 1944, date on which the Nazis massacred 86 men.
The citys merger with Lille was contentious and failed twice (1972 and 1976).
Economy
Different kinds of businesses have their headquarters in Villeneuve dAscq because of the availability of land, the presence of researchers (in particular in the Cite Scientifique and Haute Borne) and the proximity to Benelux and Paris. Villeneuve dAscq hosts notably head office of the food processing company Bonduelle, financial services providers Cofidis, sporting good chain store Decathlon, chocolate manufacture Bouquet dOr, disposable dishes Tifany Industrie, information security company Netasq, restaurant chains Flunch, Les 3 Brasseurs, Pizza Pai.
Culture
The city keeps of its past of many vestiges, sites and equipment.
Villeneuve-dAscq possesses a famous museum, the Lille Metropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art (LaM). One can visit the forum of sciences Francois Mitterrand, the rebuildings of a Gaulois village to the archeological park Asnapio.