NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS INFORMATION
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Topography
Nord-Pas-de-Calais is the northern most of the 22 French regions. It lies directly south of England, and is bounded by the North Sea to the north and northwest, Belgium to the northeast, and Picardy to the south. Nord-Pas-de-Calais is composed of the departements of Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Its capital is Lille.
Nord-Pas-de-Calais (Dutch: Noord-Nauw van Kales) is one of the 26 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 between 1477 and 1678. The historical provinces now included in Nord-Pas-de-Calais are Artois, Boulonnais, Cambraisis, Flanders, and Hainaut, and portions of northern Picardy. These provincial designations are still frequently used by the inhabitants, which offers a sense of civic pride.
It is an extremely densely populated region with some four million inhabitants - seven percent of France's total population, making it the fourth most populous region in the country - 83% of whom live in urban communities. Its administrative centre is the city of Lille. The second largest city is Calais, which serves as a major continental economic hub with Dover, England of Great Britain 26 miles away; the white cliffs of Dover are visible from Calais on a clear day. Other major towns include Valenciennes, Lens, Douai, Béthune, Dunkirk, Maubeuge, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Arras, Cambrai and Saint-Omer.
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Name
The name Nord-Pas-de-Calais combines the names of the constituent departments of Nord (literally 'North', the northernmost department of France) and Pas-de-Calais ('Strait of Calais', the French name of the Strait of Dover).
The northern part of the region was historically a part of Flanders, with Douai (Dutch: Dowaai) as its capital. The minority who wish to reunite this region with Belgium and/or the Netherlands prefer to call this region the French Netherlands (French: Pays-Bas français; Dutch: Franse Nederlanden). Various petitions, which have no impact on the population[citation needed], are currently taking place in favour of renaming and making Douai the capital once more.
Other alternative names are Hauts-de-l'Artois ('Upper Artois') and Picardie-du-Nord ('Northern Picardy').
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Economy
Nord-Pas-de-Calais became a major centre of heavy industry in the 19th century with coal mines, steel mills and traditional textile manufacture. It suffered badly in both World Wars and recovered less quickly than did other parts of France. In recent years, it has experienced economic slumps as the mines closed, the steel industry declined and the textile industry ran into problems. Between 1975-1984, the region lost over 130,000 jobs and unemployment rose to 14% of the working population, well above the national average. The region has, however, benefited from major government and European Union investment over the past 20 years. The opening of the Channel Tunnel in 1994 was welcomed in the region as a means of boosting its prosperity. Tourism, particularly in Lille at the apex of the London-Brussels-Paris railway lines, has grown considerably, to the extent that in 2004, 7 million passengers used the Eurostar, as well as 2 million vehicles on the Eurotunnel (formerly Le Shuttle). In addition to the trains, in 2002, there were about 15 million passengers from the three major ferry ports of the region (Calais, Dunkirk and Boulogne-sur-Mer).
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Climate
The climate in Nord-Pas de Calais is fairly similar to that of southeastern England. Thanks to the warm wasters of the North Atlantic drift Nord-Pas de Calais has a generally pleasant year round climate. It is typically cool, but seldom suffers from periods of excessive cold. During the height of summer the weather can actually be quite warm and very sunny.
The summer months from June through September can be warm, and it isn’t uncommon for daytime highs in the mid to uppers 80s, with the lows in the upper 60s to low 70s. Summer does tend to be the rainy season, but it generally drier than just across the channel in England. However, the late summer and early fall can be very wet at the English Channel and this includes Nord-Pas de Calais.
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Demography
With a rate of urbanization of 83%, the Nord-Pas-de-Calais is a dense and strongly populated area (4 million inhabitants and 7% of the French population). It is also the youngest area of Metropolitan France, with 36,5% less than 25 years for an national average of 32,4% (census INSEE 1999). This situation is due mainly to a strong positive natural balance, practically cancelled by a strong negative migratory balance. It occupies on the other hand the last place for death rate. This situation is explained partly by a rate of alcoholism among highest of France.
NORD-PAS-DE-CALAIS Main cities
Arras, Bergues, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Calais, Lille, Montreuil-sur-Mer, Saint-Omer, Roubaix
NORD-PAS-de-CALAIS HOLIDAY RENTALS in Region of FRANCE
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
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