Villeneuve d'Ascq
Encyclopedia
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a commune
in the Nord department in northern France
. With more than 60,000 inhabitants, it is one of the main cities of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole
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
.
Built up owing to the merger between Ascq
, Annappes
and Flers-lez-Lille
communes, the new town
is nicknamed the "green technopole
" thanks to the implantation of many researchers and companies in a pleasant living environment. Outside its academic, scientific and business facilities, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is mostly known because of its two stadiums and for the Ascq massacre
. Villeneuve d'Ascq counts more than 60,000 inhabitants and attracts 50,000 students, thanks to its "technopole" (Technical Pole).
word for "ash". The name of the city is generally written without hyphen
as is customary.
It is located between Lille
and Roubaix
, at the crossroads of the principal freeways towards Paris
, Ghent
, Antwerp and Brussels
.
, 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-d'Ascq was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the three communes (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 city's merger with Lille was contentious and failed twice (1972 and 1976).
) and the localization near Benelux
and Paris
. Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts notably head office of the food processing company Bonduelle, financial services providers Cofidis
, sporting good chain store Decathlon
, chocolate manufacture Bouquet d'Or, disposable dishes Tifany Industrie, information security company Netasq
, restaurant chains Flunch
, Les 3 Brasseurs, Pizza Paï.
Furthermore Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts Europe - Middle East - Africa head office of information technology consulting company SoftThinks and European head office and R&D center of Canadian frozen foods company McCain Foods. It is home to the central buying service of international retail group Auchan
, a R&D center of multinational agri-processor Tate & Lyle
, and a data processing center of American company Xerox
.
Villeneuve d'Ascq also hosts numerous administration and public organizations offices. The Northern headquarters of French national meteorological service Météo-France
, large barracks of the National Gendarmerie (450 gendarmes and their family), the Northern headquarters of French national information and traffic center (Centre régional d'information et de circulation routière). Since 1998, there are large offices of the mobile network operator and Internet service provider Orange, along with the information computing center of Électricité de France
for the Northern and Western France region.
From 1984 to 1994 Villeneuve d'Ascq housed a Groupe Bull
factory that developed, manufactured and marketed desktops personal computers; the place is currently used by offices of Decathlon Group
. There was also a Rhône-Poulenc
chemical factory, now housing offices of mail order company 3 Suisses
.
Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts the Northern head office of Textile and Clothing French Institute (IFTH) which assist industry for their technological and economical development. Finally, 2000 businesses are implanted in the city.
and a 12 auditoriums movie theater.
The city hosts two main university campuses. They are science and technology university Université Lille 1, most regional scientific academic center, and most national acandemic place for continuing education, and humanities taught university Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III. Those two campuses count a half of Université Lille Nord de France
students.
Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts also an University Institutes for Technology
(IUT A), the school in architecture École nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Lille, along with five graduate schools : École centrale de Lille
, École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille
, Polytech'Lille (formerly EUDIL), TELECOM Lille 1
(formerly ENIC), École supérieure des techniques industrielles et des textiles (ESTIT).
200 public and private laboratories whose 31 of them members of French National Centre for Scientific Research are located in the technopole. Some main research institute are situated in Villeneuve d'Ascq, for example IEMN (Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie
), INRIA Lille (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control), INRETS Lille (Institut national de recherche sur les transports et leur sécurité
), ESTAS (Évaluation des systèmes de transports autorisés et de leur sécurité), LEOST (Laboratoire électronique, ondes et signaux pour les transports), TRACES (Socio-économie des transports et de l'aménagement), INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
), the veterinary laboratory of the Nord department, l'IRIS (Institut de recherche de l'industrie sucrière), ITF-Nord (Institut textile de France).
At last but not least, the technopole hosts the European scientific park Haute Borne, 150 hectare next to Université Lille 1.
(Parti socialiste).In 2008, the local elections brought back to the city council Gerard Caudron as mayor.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is the seat of two cantons:
, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is connected to Lille city centre by a VAL, a type of fully automatic (driverless) light rubber-tired metro
.
The VAL metro line runs through Villeneuve-d'Ascq from Quatre-Cantons and Cité Scientifique stations and drives up to Lille historical city centre and railways stations in about ten minutes.
In fact, while the acronym VAL now officially stands for Véhicule Automatique Léger (automatic light vehicle), it was originally for Villeneuve-d'Ascq à Lille (meaning Villeneuve-d'Ascq to Lille), the route of the first line to be projected, and inaugurated on 25 April 1983. The Villeneuve d'Ascq metro station is under the Place Salvador Allende
(Salvadore Allende Square) and a shopping centre which includes Auchan
as one of its main tenants.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is also served by the train station Gare d'Ascq
, which offers connections to Lille, Orchies and Tournai and Liège in Belgium.
In 2009, 21,700 inhabitants had a sport licence in a sport club of Villeneuve d'Ascq (one third of the global population of the city) ; the city hosts 158 different sport associations, 58 different sports and 14% city operating budget is dedicated to sport.
The city has 10.99 hectares of soccer and rugby
fields, 5010 m² of track and field
facilities and 30 km of pedestrian ways to go backpacking.
s ('piscine du Triolo' and 'centre nautique Bablylone') both equipped with a 50m long water slide, an outside grass area, saunas and a musculation room.
The city hosts two major stadiums, Stadium Nord (21 650 seats) and Grand Stade Lille Métropole (50 186 seats).
Villeneuve d'Ascq have 16 soccer fields, 2 rugby
fields (stadium E. Théry, Tradition street), 17 municipal gym
nasiums plus 8 academic gymnasiums (E.S.U.M ), a sport complex called 'Palacium' (Pont de Bois avenue) and a gymnasium (salle d'Agrees, Breughel street) decicated to gymnastic.
The city hosts a sailing base, two shooting galleries, a bow and arrow gallery, two golf courses, 12 tennis courts, two athletism facities (Parmentier street and Lieutenant Colpin street).
Finally, we can find in Villeneuve d'Ascq two dojos, a big wall for wall-climbing (salle Tamise), a bourloire in Ascq
, a boulodrome
in Residence and a bowling
in Hôtel de Ville.
The Stadium Nord hosted two international exhibition games: France - Tunisia in 1978 and France - Armenia in 1996. The Stadium Nord is the official stadium of the Lille Olympique Sporting Club Lille Métropole team (Ligue 1) since the 2004-2005 season, and also the official stadium of the Entente Sportive de Wasquehal team since 1997-1998 season (formerly Ligue 2, today CFA 2). In 1997, Stadium Nord was the home stadium of the Royal Excelsior Mouscron for the UEFA Europa League. The stadium receive the UEFA Europa League matches of Lille Olympique Sporting Club Lille Métropole, so prestigious clubs such as Fenerbahçe SK, FC Sévilla, Valencia CF or Liverpool FC came to Villeneuve d'Ascq.
In 2010, the Fédération française de football organised in Stadium Nord the Festifoot féminin, an event with 500 feminine soccer player footballeuses. The France women's national football team
were there and also some women's international footballers.
In May, 2010 the Grand Stade Lille Métropole was selected by the Fédération française de football (FFF) to receive match of the UEFA Euro 2016
hosted by France.
team, Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (ex-Rugby Club Villeneuve d'Ascq), whose senior women's team takes part in France women's rugby union championship. The women's team is in Division 1 since 1999 and in Elite since his victory ath the Challenge Armelle Auclair in 2006.
The Stadium Nord receive the Quarter-final of Rugby World cup in 1991 New Zealand vs. Canada (36 000 spectators). It also receive the semi-final of European Rugby Cup 2000-2001 Stade français vs. Munster. In 2005, Stadium Nord receive matches from the under 17 y.o. rugby turnament.
The Stadium Nord receive frequently exhibition matches of the France rugby A team.
(formerly called meeting open Gaz de France, then Open du Nord and now meeting d'athlétisme Lille Métropole). The meeting is part of the national athletism league since 2007.
In Stadium Nord took place the Track and field European Cup in 1995 and the Disabled Track and field World Cup in 2002.
club, Villeneuve d'Ascq ESB which plays in France Women's Basket Ligua.
The city has also an american football
club, Vikings de Villeneuve d'Ascq (Division 2) and an handball
club, Hand Ball Club Villeneuve d'Ascq (HBCV) (Division 2).
The cycling turnament Tour de France
arrived in Villeneuve d'Ascq in 1988. Sportsmen who came from Villeneuve d'Ascq clubs include tennis players Sarah Pitkowski and Nathalie Dechy
.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq possesses a famous museum, the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art
(LaM
). One can visit the forum of sciences François Mitterrand
, the rebuildings of a Gaulois village to the archeological park Asnapio.
, United Kingdom
Tournai
, Belgium
Chaidari
, Greece
Leverkusen
, Germany
Racibórz
, Poland
La Possession
, France
Gatineau, Canada
Iaşi
, Romania
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Nord department in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. With more than 60,000 inhabitants, it is one of the main cities of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole
Urban Community of Lille Métropole
The Urban Community of Lille Métropole is the intercommunal structure gathering the commune of Lille and that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France....
and the largest in area (27,46 km²) after Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
; it is also one of the main cities of the Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais
Nord-Pas de Calais , Nord for short, is one of the 27 regions of France. It consists of the departments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais, in the north and has a border with Belgium. Most of the region was once part of the Southern Netherlands, within the Low Countries, and gradually became part of France...
region
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
.
Built up owing to the merger between Ascq
Ascq
Ascq is a former village in the Nord department in northern France on the Marque river. Today, it is part of the city of Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Ascq is unfortunately known for the Ascq massacre of 1 April 1944, where the Nazis massacred 86 men.-Heraldry:...
, Annappes
Annappes
Annappes is a village and former commune of the Nord Department of France, on the Mark river. In 1970, it was merged with the communes of Ascq and Flers-lez-Lille to form the new commune of Villeneuve d'Ascq. It is today still a district of the commune....
and Flers-lez-Lille
Flers-lez-Lille
Flers-lez-Lille is a former commune in the Nord department in northern France, merged into Villeneuve-d'Ascq in 1970.-Heraldry:-See also:*Communes of the Nord department...
communes, the new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
is nicknamed the "green technopole
Technopole
Technopole refers to a center of high-tech manufacturing and information-based quaternary industry.These may be developed by the private sector or by the co-operation or partnership between the public and private sectors. Governments of all levels promote them as a panacea for economies hurt by...
" thanks to the implantation of many researchers and companies in a pleasant living environment. Outside its academic, scientific and business facilities, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is mostly known because of its two stadiums and for the Ascq massacre
Ascq massacre
The Ascq massacre is a massacre of 86 men on April 1944 in Ascq by the Nazis during the Second World War.The 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend set out on rail trucks for Normandy at the end of March, 1944. On April 1944, 1st, the train was approaching the gare d'Ascq when an explosion blew the...
. Villeneuve d'Ascq counts more than 60,000 inhabitants and attracts 50,000 students, thanks to its "technopole" (Technical Pole).
Name
Its name means "New city of Ascq" in French and is derived from the DutchDutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
word for "ash". The name of the city is generally written without hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
as is customary.
Geography
The city counts approximately 10 km² (3.9 sq mi) of greenspace, lakes, forests and arable lands.It is located between Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
and Roubaix
Roubaix
Roubaix is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.-Culture:...
, at the crossroads of the principal freeways towards Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Ghent
Ghent
Ghent is a city and a municipality located in the Flemish region of Belgium. It is the capital and biggest city of the East Flanders province. The city started as a settlement at the confluence of the Rivers Scheldt and Lys and in the Middle Ages became one of the largest and richest cities of...
, Antwerp and Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
.
History
The roots of the city can be traced back to Celtic GaulGaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, and are anchored in two feudal mounds, a Gallo-Roman site and a Carolingian
Carolingian Empire
Carolingian Empire is a historiographical term which has been used to refer to the realm of the Franks under the Carolingian dynasty in the Early Middle Ages. This dynasty is seen as the founders of France and Germany, and its beginning date is based on the crowning of Charlemagne, or Charles the...
one.
Its site was selected in the 1960s to accommodate the new town
New town
A new town is a specific type of a planned community, or planned city, that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new...
of Lille-Est, which was to channel the development of the agglomeration. The commune of Villeneuve-d'Ascq was created in 1970 by the amalgamation of the three communes (Ascq
Ascq
Ascq is a former village in the Nord department in northern France on the Marque river. Today, it is part of the city of Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Ascq is unfortunately known for the Ascq massacre of 1 April 1944, where the Nazis massacred 86 men.-Heraldry:...
, Annappes
Annappes
Annappes is a village and former commune of the Nord Department of France, on the Mark river. In 1970, it was merged with the communes of Ascq and Flers-lez-Lille to form the new commune of Villeneuve d'Ascq. It is today still a district of the commune....
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 city's merger with Lille was contentious and failed twice (1972 and 1976).
Businesses and public organizations
Different kind of businesses have their head office in Villeneuve d'Ascq, because of the high size of the land area, the implantation of many researchers (in particular in Cité Scientifique and Haute BorneHaute Borne
Haute Borne is a new district of Villeneuve d'Ascq city, in France. It hosts the Haute Borne European scientific park. The aim of this area is to be home from high-tech companies and research and development centers, which can take advantage of laboratories and researchers of the Lille University...
) and the localization near Benelux
Benelux
The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...
and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts notably head office of the food processing company Bonduelle, financial services providers Cofidis
Cofidis
Cofidis is a French company, one of the Otto Group's financial services providers.Founded in 1982 by 3 Suisses International in cooperation with Cetelem, Cofidis specializes in the consumer credit business of the 3 Suisses Group....
, sporting good chain store Decathlon
Decathlon Group
Decathlon is a major French sporting good chain store, with stores located throughout the world. It started with a shop near Lille, France in 1976. It expanded to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992 and the United Kingdom in 1999. It entered the American market by purchasing the New England 20-store...
, chocolate manufacture Bouquet d'Or, disposable dishes Tifany Industrie, information security company Netasq
Netasq
Founded in 1998, Netasq is an information security company based in France. It has designed and markets Unified Threat Management solutions which combine network and application firewall with embedded anti-virus, anti-spam, VPN and content filtering functionality with an integrated real-time...
, restaurant chains Flunch
Flunch
Flunch is a French fast casual restaurant chain, owned by the Agapes Restauration group.-Restaurants:The first Flunch branch opened in the Englos shopping centre on the outskirts of Lille in 1971...
, Les 3 Brasseurs, Pizza Paï.
Furthermore Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts Europe - Middle East - Africa head office of information technology consulting company SoftThinks and European head office and R&D center of Canadian frozen foods company McCain Foods. It is home to the central buying service of international retail group Auchan
Auchan
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
, a R&D center of multinational agri-processor Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle plc is a British-based multinational agribusiness. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index as of 20 June 2011...
, and a data processing center of American company Xerox
Xerox
Xerox Corporation is an American multinational document management corporation that produced and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies...
.
Villeneuve d'Ascq also hosts numerous administration and public organizations offices. The Northern headquarters of French national meteorological service Météo-France
Météo-France
Météo-France is the French national meteorological service.The organisation was established by decree in June 1993 and is a department of the Ministry of Transportation. It is headquartered in Paris but many domestic operations have been decentralised to Toulouse...
, large barracks of the National Gendarmerie (450 gendarmes and their family), the Northern headquarters of French national information and traffic center (Centre régional d'information et de circulation routière). Since 1998, there are large offices of the mobile network operator and Internet service provider Orange, along with the information computing center of Électricité de France
Électricité de France
Électricité de France S.A. is the second largest French utility company. Headquartered in Paris, France, with €65.2 billion in revenues in 2010, EDF operates a diverse portfolio of 120,000+ megawatts of generation capacity in Europe, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa.EDF is one of...
for the Northern and Western France region.
From 1984 to 1994 Villeneuve d'Ascq housed a Groupe Bull
Groupe Bull
-External links:* * — Friends, co-workers and former employees of Bull and Honeywell* *...
factory that developed, manufactured and marketed desktops personal computers; the place is currently used by offices of Decathlon Group
Decathlon Group
Decathlon is a major French sporting good chain store, with stores located throughout the world. It started with a shop near Lille, France in 1976. It expanded to Germany in 1986, Spain in 1992 and the United Kingdom in 1999. It entered the American market by purchasing the New England 20-store...
. There was also a Rhône-Poulenc
Rhône-Poulenc
-History of the company:The Company was founded in 1928 through the merger of Société des Usines Chimiques du Rhône from Lyon and Établissements Poulenc Frères from Paris founded by Étienne Poulenc, a 19th century Parisian apothecary and brought to prominence by his second and third sons Emile...
chemical factory, now housing offices of mail order company 3 Suisses
3 Suisses
3 Suisses is a French mail order company. Otto GmbH has owned a 51% stake in the company since 1981. In 1987, 3 Suisses and L'Oréal founded Le Club des Créateurs de Beauté specializing in mail order sales of cosmetic products....
.
Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts the Northern head office of Textile and Clothing French Institute (IFTH) which assist industry for their technological and economical development. Finally, 2000 businesses are implanted in the city.
Shops and trade
Two huge shopping centers are located in the technopole. Centre commercial V2, founded in 1977, which, when created, was the largest shopping center north to Paris and, , it is the largest in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais area. A new one opened in 2009. Heron Parc, a 13,000 m² shopping center located besides Centre commercial V2, hosts numerous stores of Groupe AuchanAuchan
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
and a 12 auditoriums movie theater.
Education and science
Villeneuve d'Ascq is the first academic pole of the metropolitan area. Numerous academic and scientific facilities are located there (around 42,000 students and 2,500 researchers).The city hosts two main university campuses. They are science and technology university Université Lille 1, most regional scientific academic center, and most national acandemic place for continuing education, and humanities taught university Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III. Those two campuses count a half of Université Lille Nord de France
Université Lille Nord de France
The University of Lille -Nord de France , located in Lille, France, is a center for higher education, academic research and doctoral studies located over multiple campuses in the Academie de Lille....
students.
Villeneuve d'Ascq hosts also an University Institutes for Technology
Institut universitaire de technologie
The Instituts universitaires de technologie or IUT are part of the university system in France. The IUT were created in 1966...
(IUT A), the school in architecture École nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Lille, along with five graduate schools : École centrale de Lille
École Centrale de Lille
Located in the campus of the University of Lille in France, École Centrale de Lille is a renowned Graduate Engineering school, with roots back to 1854 as the École des arts industriels et des mines de Lille, re-organised in 1872 as Institut industriel du Nord.It is one of the Centrale Graduate...
, École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille
École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille
The École nationale supérieure de chimie de Lille was founded in 1894 as the Institut de chimie de Lille within the Université Lille Nord de France.It is located on the University campus referred-to as Campus Lille I - USTL....
, Polytech'Lille (formerly EUDIL), TELECOM Lille 1
TELECOM Lille 1
TELECOM Lille 1 is a French public grande école . TELECOM Lille 1 is located on the campus of Lille University of Science and Technology in Villeneuve d'Ascq near Lille...
(formerly ENIC), École supérieure des techniques industrielles et des textiles (ESTIT).
200 public and private laboratories whose 31 of them members of French National Centre for Scientific Research are located in the technopole. Some main research institute are situated in Villeneuve d'Ascq, for example IEMN (Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie
Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie
The Institut d'électronique de microélectronique et de nanotechnologie is a research institute of the Université Lille Nord de France .- IEMN research activities :The main research focus are in six major scientific areas :...
), INRIA Lille (National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Control), INRETS Lille (Institut national de recherche sur les transports et leur sécurité
Institut national de recherche sur les transports et leur sécurité
Institut national de recherche sur les transports et leur sécurité is the former French national institute for transport and safety research...
), ESTAS (Évaluation des systèmes de transports autorisés et de leur sécurité), LEOST (Laboratoire électronique, ondes et signaux pour les transports), TRACES (Socio-économie des transports et de l'aménagement), INRA (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique
The Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique is a French public research institute dedicated to scientific studies surrounding the problems of agriculture...
), the veterinary laboratory of the Nord department, l'IRIS (Institut de recherche de l'industrie sucrière), ITF-Nord (Institut textile de France).
At last but not least, the technopole hosts the European scientific park Haute Borne, 150 hectare next to Université Lille 1.
Administration
Having succeeded Gérard Caudron as mayor from 1977 to 2001, Jean-Michel Stievenard and his team wish to maintain balances the environnement and the economic development, the greenery and technology, the daily wellbeing and the great projects, the social one and quality, opening on the its internal comfort and rest of the world, its finance and high degree of public utility. The mayors of Villeneuve-d'Ascq since 1977 have been members of the Socialist PartySocialist Party (France)
The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
(Parti socialiste).In 2008, the local elections brought back to the city council Gerard Caudron as mayor.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is the seat of two cantons:
- Villeneuve-d'Ascq-Nord counts 31,811 inhabitants.
- Villeneuve-d'Ascq-Sud counts 33,231 inhabitants.
Transportation
As a part of the Urban Community of Lille MétropoleUrban Community of Lille Métropole
The Urban Community of Lille Métropole is the intercommunal structure gathering the commune of Lille and that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France....
, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is connected to Lille city centre by a VAL, a type of fully automatic (driverless) light rubber-tired metro
Rapid transit
A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway, metro or metropolitan railway system is an electric passenger railway in an urban area with a high capacity and frequency, and grade separation from other traffic. Rapid transit systems are typically located either in underground tunnels or on...
.
The VAL metro line runs through Villeneuve-d'Ascq from Quatre-Cantons and Cité Scientifique stations and drives up to Lille historical city centre and railways stations in about ten minutes.
In fact, while the acronym VAL now officially stands for Véhicule Automatique Léger (automatic light vehicle), it was originally for Villeneuve-d'Ascq à Lille (meaning Villeneuve-d'Ascq to Lille), the route of the first line to be projected, and inaugurated on 25 April 1983. The Villeneuve d'Ascq metro station is under the Place Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende
Salvador Allende Gossens was a Chilean physician and politician who is generally considered the first democratically elected Marxist to become president of a country in Latin America....
(Salvadore Allende Square) and a shopping centre which includes Auchan
Auchan
Groupe Auchan SA is a French international retail group and multinational corporation headquartered in Croix, France. It is one of the world's principal distribution groups with a presence in 12 countries and 175,000 employees....
as one of its main tenants.
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is also served by the train station Gare d'Ascq
Gare d'Ascq
Gare d'Ascq is a railway station serving the former village of Ascq, now part of Villeneuve-d'Ascq city, Nord department, northern France.- History :In nineteenth century the industrial revolution is developing industry in northern France...
, which offers connections to Lille, Orchies and Tournai and Liège in Belgium.
Honours and statistics
The city got many awards for its sport activity. In 1994, the newspaper L'Equipe ranked Villeneuve d'Ascq in the 5 most sportive city in France. In 1996, Villeneuve d'Ascq was elected the 'most sportive city of France', and in 1999, 'the most disabled sportive city'. It is a logical result because the city invests a lot in sport.In 2009, 21,700 inhabitants had a sport licence in a sport club of Villeneuve d'Ascq (one third of the global population of the city) ; the city hosts 158 different sport associations, 58 different sports and 14% city operating budget is dedicated to sport.
The city has 10.99 hectares of soccer and rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
fields, 5010 m² of track and field
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
facilities and 30 km of pedestrian ways to go backpacking.
Facilities
Villeneuve d'Ascq has two swimming poolSwimming pool
A swimming pool, swimming bath, wading pool, or simply a pool, is a container filled with water intended for swimming or water-based recreation. There are many standard sizes; the largest is the Olympic-size swimming pool...
s ('piscine du Triolo' and 'centre nautique Bablylone') both equipped with a 50m long water slide, an outside grass area, saunas and a musculation room.
The city hosts two major stadiums, Stadium Nord (21 650 seats) and Grand Stade Lille Métropole (50 186 seats).
Villeneuve d'Ascq have 16 soccer fields, 2 rugby
Rugby football
Rugby football is a style of football named after Rugby School in the United Kingdom. It is seen most prominently in two current sports, rugby league and rugby union.-History:...
fields (stadium E. Théry, Tradition street), 17 municipal gym
Gym
The word γυμνάσιον was used in Ancient Greece, that mean a locality for both physical and intellectual education of young men...
nasiums plus 8 academic gymnasiums (E.S.U.M ), a sport complex called 'Palacium' (Pont de Bois avenue) and a gymnasium (salle d'Agrees, Breughel street) decicated to gymnastic.
The city hosts a sailing base, two shooting galleries, a bow and arrow gallery, two golf courses, 12 tennis courts, two athletism facities (Parmentier street and Lieutenant Colpin street).
Finally, we can find in Villeneuve d'Ascq two dojos, a big wall for wall-climbing (salle Tamise), a bourloire in Ascq
Ascq
Ascq is a former village in the Nord department in northern France on the Marque river. Today, it is part of the city of Villeneuve-d'Ascq. Ascq is unfortunately known for the Ascq massacre of 1 April 1944, where the Nazis massacred 86 men.-Heraldry:...
, a boulodrome
Boules
Boules is a collective name for games played with metal balls.Two of the most played boule games are pétanque and boule lyonnaise. The aim of the game is to get large, heavy balls as close to the 'jack' as you can. It is very popular especially in France, but also Italy, where it may often be seen...
in Residence and a bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
in Hôtel de Ville.
Football (soccer)
Villeneuve d'Ascq is home to several football teams which plays in the Nord-Pas de Calais football league, in Flandre district: US Ascq (promotion d'honneur), Villeneuve d'Ascq Métropole (promotion d'honneur) and Flers OS Villeneuve d'Ascq (1ère division de district).The Stadium Nord hosted two international exhibition games: France - Tunisia in 1978 and France - Armenia in 1996. The Stadium Nord is the official stadium of the Lille Olympique Sporting Club Lille Métropole team (Ligue 1) since the 2004-2005 season, and also the official stadium of the Entente Sportive de Wasquehal team since 1997-1998 season (formerly Ligue 2, today CFA 2). In 1997, Stadium Nord was the home stadium of the Royal Excelsior Mouscron for the UEFA Europa League. The stadium receive the UEFA Europa League matches of Lille Olympique Sporting Club Lille Métropole, so prestigious clubs such as Fenerbahçe SK, FC Sévilla, Valencia CF or Liverpool FC came to Villeneuve d'Ascq.
In 2010, the Fédération française de football organised in Stadium Nord the Festifoot féminin, an event with 500 feminine soccer player footballeuses. The France women's national football team
France women's national football team
The French women's national football team represents France in international women's football. The team is directed by the French Football Federation and competes as a member of UEFA in various international football tournaments such as the FIFA Women's World Cup, UEFA Women's Euro, the Summer...
were there and also some women's international footballers.
In May, 2010 the Grand Stade Lille Métropole was selected by the Fédération française de football (FFF) to receive match of the UEFA Euro 2016
UEFA Euro 2016
The 2016 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as Euro 2016, will be the 15th European Championship for national football teams sanctioned by UEFA. It will be held in the summer of 2016. The host nation was announced to be France on 28 May 2010...
hosted by France.
Rugby
Villeneuve d'Ascq is home to a rugby unionRugby union
Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...
team, Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois (ex-Rugby Club Villeneuve d'Ascq), whose senior women's team takes part in France women's rugby union championship. The women's team is in Division 1 since 1999 and in Elite since his victory ath the Challenge Armelle Auclair in 2006.
The Stadium Nord receive the Quarter-final of Rugby World cup in 1991 New Zealand vs. Canada (36 000 spectators). It also receive the semi-final of European Rugby Cup 2000-2001 Stade français vs. Munster. In 2005, Stadium Nord receive matches from the under 17 y.o. rugby turnament.
The Stadium Nord receive frequently exhibition matches of the France rugby A team.
Track and field
The Stadium Nord hosts every year since 1988 an international meeting of track and fieldTrack and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
(formerly called meeting open Gaz de France, then Open du Nord and now meeting d'athlétisme Lille Métropole). The meeting is part of the national athletism league since 2007.
In Stadium Nord took place the Track and field European Cup in 1995 and the Disabled Track and field World Cup in 2002.
Other sports
Villeneuve d'Ascq has a famous basketballBasketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
club, Villeneuve d'Ascq ESB which plays in France Women's Basket Ligua.
The city has also an american football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
club, Vikings de Villeneuve d'Ascq (Division 2) and an handball
Team handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
club, Hand Ball Club Villeneuve d'Ascq (HBCV) (Division 2).
The cycling turnament Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...
arrived in Villeneuve d'Ascq in 1988. Sportsmen who came from Villeneuve d'Ascq clubs include tennis players Sarah Pitkowski and Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy
Nathalie Dechy is a French former professional tour tennis player.Dechy is a three-time doubles Grand Slam champion, winning the 2006 US Open women's doubles title with Vera Zvonareva, the 2007 French Open mixed doubles title with Andy Ram, and the 2007 US Open women's doubles title with Dinara...
.
Culture
The city keeps of its past of many vestiges, sites and equipment.Villeneuve-d'Ascq possesses a famous museum, the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art
Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art
The Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art , formerly known as Villeneuve d'Ascq Museum of Modern Art, is an art museum located in Villeneuve d'Ascq, France....
(LaM
Lam
-Lam:*Mor lam, an ancient Lao form of song in Laos and Isan*Lam saravane, a music genre*Lam luang, a music genre*Lam, Germany, a town in Bavaria-LAM:*Lactational amenorrhea method, a contraceptive method...
). One can visit the forum of sciences François Mitterrand
François Mitterrand
François Maurice Adrien Marie Mitterrand was the 21st President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra, serving from 1981 until 1995. He is the longest-serving President of France and, as leader of the Socialist Party, the only figure from the left so far elected President...
, the rebuildings of a Gaulois village to the archeological park Asnapio.
Twin towns
Villeneuve-d'Ascq is twinned with: StirlingStirling
Stirling is a city and former ancient burgh in Scotland, and is at the heart of the wider Stirling council area. The city is clustered around a large fortress and medieval old-town beside the River Forth...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Tournai
Tournai
Tournai is a Walloon city and municipality of Belgium located 85 kilometres southwest of Brussels, on the river Scheldt, in the province of Hainaut....
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
Chaidari
Chaidari
Chaidari , is a suburb in the west northwestern part of Athens, Greece. The two mountaintops of Aigaleo lies to the north and south...
, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
Leverkusen
Leverkusen
Leverkusen is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany on the eastern bank of the Rhine. To the South, Leverkusen borders the city of Cologne and to the North is the state capital Düsseldorf....
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Racibórz
Racibórz
Racibórz is a town in southern Poland with 60,218 inhabitants situated in the Silesian Voivodeship , previously in Katowice Voivodeship...
, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
La Possession
La Possession
La Possession is a commune in the French overseas department of Réunion. It is located on the northwest side of the island of Réunion, between the capital of Saint-Denis and the commune of Le Port. The commune is twinned with Villeneuve-d'Ascq, in France....
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
Gatineau, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
Iaşi
Iasi
Iași is the second most populous city and a municipality in Romania. Located in the historical Moldavia region, Iași has traditionally been one of the leading centres of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life...
, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...