Villeneuve-d'Ascq facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts

Quick facts for kids

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Neuvile-Ask (Picard)

Commune

Château de Flers

Coat of arms

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Location in France

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Location in Hauts-de-France

Country

Villeneuve-d'Ascq

Métropole Européenne de Lille

Area

22.66 km² (8.75 sq mi)

Population

(2021)

62,067

• Density

2,739.1/km² (7,094.1/sq mi)

Time zone

UTC+01:00 (CET)

• Summer (DST)

UTC+02:00 (CEST)

INSEE/Postal code

59009 /59491, 59493, 59650

Elevation

19–46 m (62–151 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Saint-Sébastien d'Annappes church

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a cool city in northern France. It's located in the Nord area. More than 60,000 people live here, and about 50,000 students study in its schools.

It's one of the main cities in the Métropole Européenne de Lille. It's also the biggest city in its area. Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a key city in the Hauts-de-France region.

This city was created by joining three older towns: Ascq, Annappes, and Flers-lez-Lille. It's a special kind of city called a "new town." It's also famous for having the world's first automatic metro system, called VAL.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is known as the 'green technopole'. This means it has lots of green spaces and many smart people. It's home to two campuses of the University of Lille. Many engineering schools and companies are also here.

The city is a big economic hub in the Hauts-de-France region. Big companies like Bonduelle, Cofidis, and Decathlon have their main offices here. It has important business areas and two large shopping malls.

Beyond its schools and businesses, Villeneuve-d'Ascq is great for sports. It has two big stadiums: Stade Pierre-Mauroy and Stadium Lille Métropole. It also has top sports teams. You can find museums here, like the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art. The city also has many green spaces and good facilities for people with disabilities.

What's in a Name?

The name Villeneuve-d'Ascq means "new city of Ascq" in French. The word "Ascq" might come from a Dutch word for "ash." Usually, the city's name is written without the hyphen, even though it's officially there.

Where is Villeneuve-d'Ascq?

The city has about 10 square kilometers (about 4 square miles) of green areas. This includes lakes, forests, and farmland. It's located between the cities of Lille and Roubaix. It's also at a major crossroads for highways. These roads lead to big cities like Paris, Ghent, Antwerp, and Brussels.

A Look Back in Time

People have lived in the area of Villeneuve-d'Ascq for a very long time. We can find signs of ancient Celtic people from the Gaul era. There are also old sites from the Gallo-Roman and Carolingian times.

In the 1960s, this area was chosen to become a "new town." It was first called Lille-Est. The idea was to help the city of Lille grow and to develop new institutions. The city of Villeneuve-d'Ascq was officially created in 1970. This happened when the towns of Ascq, Annappes, and Flers joined together.

The name remembers both the "new" (neuve) and the "old." The old town of Ascq had a very sad event on April 1, 1944. During World War II, many people lost their lives there.

There were attempts to merge Villeneuve-d'Ascq with Lille in 1972 and 1976, but they didn't happen.

People Living Here

The numbers below show how many people have lived in this area over time. The data before 1970 is for the old town of Annappes. The population grew a lot after 1970 when the towns merged.

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	1,221	—
1800	1,161	−0.72%
1806	1,185	+0.34%
1821	1,356	+0.90%
1831	1,650	+1.98%
1836	1,664	+0.17%
1841	1,821	+1.82%
1846	1,943	+1.31%
1851	1,962	+0.19%
1856	2,050	+0.88%
1861	2,118	+0.65%
1866	2,232	+1.05%
1872	2,307	+0.55%
1876	2,357	+0.54%
1881	2,651	+2.38%
1886	2,713	+0.46%
1891	2,858	+1.05%
1896	2,860	+0.01%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1901	3,014	+1.05%
1906	2,956	−0.39%
1911	3,026	+0.47%
1921	3,020	−0.02%
1926	3,127	+0.70%
1931	3,221	+0.59%
1936	3,350	+0.79%
1946	3,553	+0.59%
1954	3,751	+0.68%
1962	5,373	+4.59%
1968	11,618	+13.72%
1975	36,769	+17.89%
1982	59,527	+7.12%
1990	65,320	+1.17%
1999	65,042	−0.05%
2007	61,630	−0.67%
2012	62,308	+0.22%
2017	63,408	+0.35%

Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Business and Jobs

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a great place for businesses. It has open land, many researchers, and is close to important economic areas. These include Benelux countries and Paris.

Businesses and Organizations

Many different companies have their main offices here. These include the food company Bonduelle and the financial company Cofidis. The sports store Decathlon is also based here. Other companies include Bouquet d'Or (chocolate) and Flunch (restaurants).

Villeneuve-d'Ascq also hosts offices for public organizations. These include Météo-France (weather service) and the National Gendarmerie (police). Large offices for the mobile network Orange are also in the city.

In the past, there was a Groupe Bull computer factory here. Now, Decathlon uses that site for offices. A Rhône-Poulenc chemical factory used to be here. Now, the mail order company 3 Suisses has offices there.

The city is home to the Textile and Clothing French Institute (IFTH). This institute helps the textile industry grow. Overall, about 2,000 businesses are located in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.

Shops and Shopping

The city has two very large shopping centers. The Centre commercial V2 opened in 1977. It was once the biggest shopping center north of Paris. It's still the largest in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais area.

A newer outdoor shopping center, Heron Parc, opened in 2009. It's about 13,000 square meters (140,000 sq ft). It has many stores from Groupe Auchan and a large movie theater.

Learning and Science

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is a major center for education and science. It has about 42,000 students and 2,500 researchers.

Universities and Colleges

The city has two main campuses of the University of Lille. The "Cité Scientifique" campus focuses on science and technology. The "Pont de Bois" campus is for social sciences, humanities, and arts. These two campuses have half of all students in the Lille Nord de France university group.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq also has a University Institute for Technology (IUT A). There's also an architecture school and five graduate schools. These include École centrale de Lille and Polytech'Lille.

Schools for Kids

For younger students, there are 20 public preschools and 17 public primary schools. There are also 6 schools that combine preschool and primary grades.

The city has five public junior high schools: Camille Claudel, Simone de Beauvoir, Molière, Rimbaud, and Triolo. There are two public senior high schools: Lycée Raymond Queneau and Lycée professionnel Dinah Derycke.

There are also several private schools. These include a combined elementary through high school, École Saint-Adrien.

Research and Labs

The city has 200 public and private laboratories. Some of these are part of the French National Centre for Scientific Research. Important research institutes are located here. These include IEMN (electronics and nanotechnology) and INRIA Lille (computer science).

Finally, the city hosts the European scientific park Haute Borne. This large park is 150 hectares (370 acres) and is next to Université Lille 1.

How the City is Run

Gérard Caudron was the mayor from 1977 to 2001. Then Jean-Michel Stievenard became mayor. The city leaders want to balance protecting the environment with economic growth. They also focus on daily well-being and big projects.

Since 1977, the mayors of Villeneuve-d'Ascq have been members of the Socialist Party. In 2008, Gérard Caudron was elected mayor again.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is the main city of the canton of Villeneuve-d'Ascq.

Getting Around

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille. It's connected to Lille city center by a VAL metro. This metro is fully automatic, meaning it has no driver!

The VAL metro line runs through Villeneuve-d'Ascq. It goes from Quatre-Cantons and Cité Scientifique stations. It takes about ten minutes to reach Lille's city center.

The name VAL originally stood for Villeneuve-d'Ascq à Lille. This means "Villeneuve-d'Ascq to Lille," which was the first route. It opened on April 25, 1983. The metro station in Villeneuve-d'Ascq is under the Place Salvador Allende square. It's also under a shopping center that includes Auchan.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq also has a train station, Gare d'Ascq. From here, you can travel to Lille, Orchies, and even to Tournai and Liège in Belgium.

Sports Fun!

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has won many awards for its sports activities. In 1994, a newspaper called L'Equipe named it one of the top five sportiest cities in France. In 1996, it was chosen as the 'most sportive city of France'. In 1999, it was named 'the most disabled sportive city'. The city spends a lot on sports.

In 2009, about 21,700 people had a sports license in a city sports club. That's about one-third of the city's population! The city has 158 different sports associations. It offers 58 different sports. About 14% of the city's budget goes to sports.

The city has about 11 hectares (27 acres) of soccer and rugby fields. It has 5,010 square meters (54,000 sq ft) of track and field facilities. There are also 30 kilometers (19 miles) of hiking trails.

Facilities

Stade Pierre-Mauroy

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has two swimming pools. Both have a 50-meter long water slide, outdoor grassy areas, saunas, and a gym.

The city has two major stadiums. The Stadium Lille Métropole has 21,650 seats. The Stade Pierre-Mauroy has 50,186 seats.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has 16 soccer fields and 2 rugby fields. It also has 17 city gymnasiums and 8 school gymnasiums. There's a sports complex called 'Palacium' and a gym just for gymnastics.

The city also has a sailing base and two shooting galleries. There's a bow and arrow gallery and two golf courses. You can find 12 tennis courts and two athletics facilities.

Finally, Villeneuve-d'Ascq has two dojos for martial arts. There's a big wall for wall-climbing. You can also find a bourloire (a special bowling alley) and a bowling alley.

Sporting Events and Teams

Football (Soccer)

Villeneuve-d'Ascq is home to several football (soccer) teams. These teams play in the local leagues.

The Stadium Nord has hosted international games. It's the home stadium for the Lille Olympique Sporting Club Lille Métropole team. This team plays in France's top league, Ligue 1. The stadium has also hosted UEFA Europa League matches. Big clubs like Fenerbahçe SK and Liverpool FC have played here.

In 2010, the French Football Federation held a big event for 500 female soccer players here. The France women's national football team was there.

In May 2010, Stade Pierre-Mauroy was chosen to host matches for the UEFA Euro 2016 tournament in France.

Rugby

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has a rugby union team called Lille Métropole Rugby Club Villeneuvois. Their senior women's team plays in France's women's rugby union championship. They have been in Division 1 since 1999.

The Stadium Nord hosted a quarter-final match for the Rugby World Cup in 1991. It also hosted a semi-final for the European Rugby Cup in 2000-2001. The Stadium Nord often hosts exhibition matches for the France rugby A team.

Track and Field

The Stadium Nord hosts an international track and field meeting every year since 1988. It's now called the meeting d'athlétisme Lille Métropole.

The Stadium Nord also hosted the Track and Field European Cup in 1995. In 2002, it hosted the Disabled Track and Field World Cup.

Other Sports

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has a famous basketball club, ESB Villeneuve-d'Ascq. They play in the top women's league, Ligue Féminine de Basketball.

The city also has an american football club, Vikings de Villeneuve d'Ascq. There's also a handball club, Hand Ball Club Villeneuve d'Ascq (HBCV).

The famous cycling race Tour de France came to Villeneuve-d'Ascq in 1988. Famous tennis players like Sarah Pitkowski and Nathalie Dechy came from clubs in Villeneuve-d'Ascq.

Culture and Museums

The city has many old sites and modern facilities that show its history and culture.

Villeneuve-d'Ascq has a famous museum called the Lille Métropole Museum of Modern, Contemporary and Outsider Art (LaM). You can also visit the François Mitterrand science forum. There's an archaeological park called Asnapio where you can see rebuilt Gaulois (ancient French) village buildings.