Roubaix

Template:Other uses Template:Use dmy dates Template:Use British English Template:Infobox French commune

Roubaix (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell, Template:IPA Template:IPA; Template:Langx; Template:Langx; Template:Langx) is a city in northern France, located in the Lille metropolitan area on the Belgian border. It is a historically mono-industrial commune<ref name=tpo>Template:Cite book</ref> in the Nord department,<ref>INSEE commune file</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> This former new town has faced many challenges linked to deindustrialisation such as urban decay,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 Lille, adjacent to Tourcoing, Roubaix is the Template:Lang of two cantons and the third largest city in the French region of Hauts-de-France ranked by population with nearly 99,000 inhabitants.<ref name=pop2019>Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019, INSEE</ref>

Together with the nearby cities of Lille, Tourcoing, Villeneuve-d'Ascq and eighty-six other communes,<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Roubaix gives structure to a four-centred metropolitan area inhabited by more than 1.1 million people: the European Metropolis of Lille.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> To a greater extent, Roubaix is in the center of a vast conurbation formed with the Belgian cities of Mouscron, Kortrijk and Tournai, 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Location

Roubaix occupies a central position on the north-east slope of the Métropole Européenne de Lille: it is set on the eastern side of Lille and the southern side of Tourcoing, close to the Belgian border. As regards towns' boundaries, Roubaix is encompassed by seven cities which constitute its immediate neighbouring environment. These municipalities are namely: Tourcoing to the north and the northwest, Wattrelos to the northeast, Leers to the east, Lys-lez-Lannoy 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 Castellany of Lille between the Lys and Scheldt rivers.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

As the crow flies, the distance between Roubaix and the following cities is some odd: Template:Convert to Tournai, Template:Convert to Kortrijk, Template:Convert to Brussels and Template:Convert to Paris.<ref name=efr>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geology

The land upon which Roubaix stands belongs to the plain of Flanders. The Roubaisian area stretches on an east-west oriented shallow syncline axis which trends south-southeast to the Paleozoic limestone<ref name=jdjp>Template:Cite book</ref> of the Mélantois-Tournaisis faulted anticline.<ref name=hrarcr>Template:Cite book</ref> It consists predominantly of Holocene alluvial sediment depositions. It is flat and low, with an elevation drop of only Template:Height over its Template:Convert. The lowest altitude of this area stands at Template:Height, while its highest altitude is Template:Height meters above the sea level.<ref name="cassini"/>

Hydrology

The Trichon stream fed by waters of the Espierre stream used to flow through the rural landscape of Roubaix before the industrialisation process began to alter this area in the middle of the 19th century.<ref name=srjsme>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 connected upstream from the Deûle and downstream to the Marque and Espierre toward the Scheldt, which linked directly Roubaix to Lille.<ref name=usfc>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Opened in 1877,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name=hmk>Template:Cite book</ref> Thank to the European funded project Blue Links, the waterway has been reopened to boating traffic since 2011.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Climate

The area of the city is not known for undergoing unusual weather events. In regard to the town's geographical location<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and the results of the Météo-France's weather station of Lille-Lesquin,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Roubaix is a temperate oceanic climate: while summer experiences mild temperatures, winter's temperatures may fall to below zero. Precipitation is infrequently intense.

Template:Weather box

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Toponymy

The current city's name is most likely derived from Frankish rausa "reed" and baki "brook".<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="en_topo"/><ref name=voj>Template:Cite book</ref> Therefore, the meaning of Roubaix can, in all likelihood, find its origin on the banks of its three historical brooks: Espierre, Trichon and Favreuil.<ref name=tlad>Template:Cite book</ref> The place was mentioned for the first time in a Latinised form in the 9th century: Villa Rusbaci.<ref name=en_topo>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name="voj"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Thereafter, the following names were in use: 1047 and 1106 Rubais, 1122 Rosbays, 1166 Rusbais, 1156 and 1202 Robais, 1223 Roubais.<ref name="en_topo"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Over the span of centuries, the name evolved to Roubaix as shown on Mercator's map of Flanders published at Leuven in 1540.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Parallel to the official and usual name Roubaix, some translations are worth a mention. Firstly, though the city has never belonged to the Flemish-speaking area,<ref name=ltct>Template:Cite book</ref> the seldom-heard renderings Robeke<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and Roodebeeke<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> are documented for Roubaix.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Furthermore, the Dutch Language Union established Robaais as the city's proper Dutch name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Lastly, one can cite Rosbacum as the definite Latin 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 Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) laid in 1840 and the Church of Notre Dame laid in 1842.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

History

Template:See alsoDuring the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success.<ref name=":12">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=":22">Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=":32">Template:Cite news</ref>

Heraldry

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People

Inhabitants of Roubaix are known in English as "Roubaisians" and in French as Roubaisiens (Template:IPA) or in the feminine form Roubaisiennes (Template:IPA), also natively called Roubaignots (Template:IPA) or in the feminine form Roubaignotes (Template:IPA).<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=fraflapi>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Demographics

Template:See also Template:Historical populations 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.<ref name="marissal"/> 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.<ref name="marissal"/> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

During the first-half period of the 19th century, Roubaix ranked the first French town in terms of population growth rate with a five times increase,<ref name=xdppc>Template:Cite book</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Nonetheless, the rate of natural increase shew to be a more important component of the population growth in that period.<ref name=lpm>Template:Cite book</ref>

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 during the First World War.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Over this occupation period, Roubaisians suffered from dearth, deportation for compulsory labour and unusual casualties<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> with a rather slight population drop from 122,723 to 113,265 between the 1911 and 1921 censuses.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

The population of the city was 98,828 as of January 2019.<ref name=pop2019/> This enables Roubaix to remain the third largest municipality in the region Hauts-de-France, after Lille and Amiens.

As of 2019, at least 25% of residents in Roubaix were immigrants, mainly of Arab, North African, Turkish, and Sub-Saharan African origin.<ref name="citypopulation.de">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="colleenlnugent.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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 is locally known as Roubaignot.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=tpo2>Template:Cite book</ref> Until the early 20th century this patois prevailed.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> 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 policies.<ref name="fraflapi"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Religion

Christianity

The city of Roubaix is divided into six Catholic parishes and belongs to the deanery of the same name in the archdiocese of Lille.

Judaism

In the aftermath of the Franco-Prussian War and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, many Jews left their homes and emigrated.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Jewish arrival in Roubaix derives from that bitter period of history.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name="jvf"/> At the time, the new immigrant community, even though its small size, dedicated a building to Jewish faith and liturgical practises.<ref name=jvf>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=ddcjs>Template:Cite book</ref> The newly opened synagogue, located in a house at number 51 on the narrow rue des Champs,<ref name="jvf"/><ref name="ddcjs"/> operated more than 60 years, until 1939, when it was closed under imprecise local circumstances as the Nazi regime took over in Europe.<ref name="ddcjs"/><ref name=jrb>Template:Cite journal</ref> Despite the closure of the synagogue, the occupation and police raids,Template:Refn<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> the local practise of Judaism 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.<ref name="jrb"/> Roubaix has no longer been home to a Jewish place of worship since that event.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> The house inside which the first one was created 123 years ago, has been demolished since an urban renewal project occurred in 2000.<ref name="jvf"/> On 10 September 2015 the mayor unveiled a commemorative plaque on the rue des Champs, as a tribute to the Roubaisian Jewry, in memory of the religious purpose of this previous building.<ref name="jrb"/>

Islam

As of August 2013, there were six mosques in the town, including one under construction. According to estimates by the mayor's office, around 20,000 people, or at least 20% of the population were Muslims.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="colleenlnugent.com"/> Over one-in-three residents in Roubaix are of Arab, North African, Turkish, and Sub-Saharan African origin.<ref name="citypopulation.de"/> Four areas of the cemetery were designated for Muslims.<ref name=jgilman>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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, Laos, Thailand, and Vietnam.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Within this background Roubaix has brought together two Buddhist traditions on its territory, hence cultural variations across communities: Mahāyāna and Theravāda with, respectively, one and four places of worship.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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: Nord's 7th constituency which include the former canton of Roubaix-Ouest and Nord's 8th constituency 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

Anseele 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

Mayor	Term start	Term end	PartyTemplate:Refn
Henri Carette	May 1892	December 1901	POF
Edouard Roussel	December 1901	January 1902	UDR
Eugène Motte	January 1902	May 1912	FR
Jean-Baptiste Lebas<ref group=note>Jean-Baptiste Lebas's mandate was interrupted when he was arrested on 7 March 1915 by German authorities to be imprisoned in the fortress of Rastatt.</ref>	May 1912	March 1915	SFIO
Henri Thérin<ref group=note>Henri Thérin, the first deputy mayor, stood in for Jean-Baptiste Lebas during his imprisonment time.</ref>	March 1915	October 1918	SFIO
Jean-Baptiste Lebas	October 1918	June 1940	SFIO
Fleuris VanherpeTemplate:Refn	June 1940	August 1941
Marcel Guislain	August 1941	December 1941
Alphonse Verbeurgt	January 1942	May 1942
Charles Bauduin	May 1942	July 1942
Victor ProvoTemplate:Refn	July 1942	March 1977	SFIO then PS
Pierre Prouvost	March 1977	March 1983	PS
André Diligent	March 1983	May 1994	UDF-CDS
René Vandierendonck	May 1994	March 2012	UDF-CDS then DVG and finally PS
Pierre Dubois	March 2012	March 2014	PS
Guillaume Delbar	April 2014	–	UMP then LR and finally DVD

Twin towns and sister cities

Template:See also

Roubaix is twinned with:<ref name=fd_jum>Template:Cite web</ref>

Template:Flagicon Bradford, United Kingdom, since 1969<ref name="fd_jum"/><ref name="Archant twinning">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Mönchengladbach, Germany, since 1969<ref name=jp_jum>Template:Cite book</ref><ref name=pc_jum>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Flagicon Verviers, Belgium, since 1969<ref name="jp_jum"/><ref name="pc_jum"/>
Template:Flagicon Skopje, North Macedonia, since 1973<ref name="Skopje twinnings">Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Prato, Italy, since 1981<ref name=pp_jum>Template:Cite book</ref>
Template:Flagicon Sosnowiec, Poland, since 1993<ref name=so_jum>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Covilhã, Portugal, since 2000<ref name=co_jum>Template:Cite web</ref>
Template:Flagicon Bouïra, Algeria, since 2003<ref name="fd_jum"/>

Landmarks

Remarkable buildings, old brick factories and warehouses abound in this once renowned city which was esteemed to be a worldwide textile capital in the early years of the 20th century.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> Thus, the city inherited one of the most architectural works in the French history and culture of the 19th century Industrial Revolution and was designated Town of Art and History on 13 December 2000.<ref name=tah>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.<ref name="jnk"/>

Several profane or sacral buildings of Roubaix are registered as historic monuments.

Secular buildings registered as monuments historiques

Barbieux health centre
ENSAIT
Prouvost private mansion
Art nouveau house
Three-storey stately house
Rémy Cogghe's house
Law court
Huchon water tower
National Archives of the Working World
Concierge of the demolished Palais Vaissier

Religious structures registered as monuments historiques

Convent of Clarisses
Deconsecrated Church Notre-Dame
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.<ref name=discow>Template:Cite web</ref> The sculptures and memorial monuments in Roubaix which deserve notice for their historical or artistical interest are mentioned below.

Discobolos: a New patrons project by Wim Delvoye (sculptor), Bruno Dupont (mediator), Fondation de France and city of Roubaix (supporters), ordered by the neighbourhood residents with the members of the Hommelet neighbourhood committee<ref group=note>A local association (as per the 1901 law about association) called "Comité de quartier de l'Hommelet"</ref> and inaugurated on 5 June 2010<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Joan of Arc statue: Maxime Real del Sarte (sculptor), inaugurated on 27 May 1952<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/>
Memorial to Jean-Baptiste Lebas: Albert de Jaeger (sculptor), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on 23 October 1949<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorial to Resistance Martyrs of Roubaix: Albert de Jaeger (sculptor), engraved "Roubaix a ses martyrs de la Résistance" and "Ils ont brisé les chaînes de l'oppression",<ref group=note>"Roubaix has its martyrs of the Resistance" and "They broke the chains of oppression"</ref> ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 11 November 1948<ref name=jp_scu>Template:Cite book</ref>
Memorial to Eugène Motte: Raoul Bénard (sculptor), Gustave Poubel (architect), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on 22 September 1935<ref name=rbx_pbgb>Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorial to Jean-Joseph Weerts: Alexandre Descatoire (sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 29 October 1931<ref name=lpp>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Memorial to Louis Bossut: Maxime Real del Sarte (sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 4 October 1925<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/><ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
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",<ref group=note>"Roubaix to his children died in defense of the country and for peace"</ref> ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 18 October 1925<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorial to Jules Guesde: Georgette Agutte-Sembat (sculptor), Albert Bührer (architect), funded through public subscription and inaugurated on 12 April 1925<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorial to Amédée Prouvost: Hippolyte Lefèbvre (sculptor), ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 29 October 1922<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/>
Memorial to Pierre Destombes: Corneille Theunissen (sculptor), engraved "Hortorum, Musicae, Librorumque, Studiosus",<ref group=note>"Friend of the gardens, music and books"</ref> ordered by the City council and inaugurated on 29 October 1922<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Memorial to Gustave Nadaud: Alphonse-Amédée Cordonnier (sculptor), Gustave Leblanc-Barbedienne (art founder), inaugurated on 11 October 1896<ref name="rbx_pbgb"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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<ref group=note>"The Swimming Pool"</ref> and La Manufacture;<ref group=note>"The Manufactory"</ref> inheriting both of the local socioeconomic history. La Piscine, also known as the Musée d'Art & d'Industrie André Diligent,<ref group=note>"André Diligent Museum of Art and Industry"</ref> is one of the most lauded cultural attractions in northern France. This museum is housed in the Art Deco-style former swimming pool of Roubaix, a building remodelled in 2000 to accommodate and exhibit 19th and 20th century collections of the city.<ref group=note>The collections held at the museum include sculptures by Alberto Giacometti, Auguste Rodin, Camille Claudel and Pablo Picasso</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> La Manufacture is the reference textile museum in northern France. It is hosted in an old weaving 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 Jean-Joseph Weerts<ref name="lpp"/> and Rémy Cogghe.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Two painters commonly associated with the group are Arthur Van Hecke and Eugène Leroy.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

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 designers to thrive since 2007. The Roubaisian location, next to La Piscine museum, is known as Le Vestiaire.<ref group=note>The Cloakroom</ref> There are fifteen boutiques and fashion studios housed in an old industrial building.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Theatre and performing arts centres

Template:Prose

Centre chorégraphique national Roubaix - Hauts-de-France<ref group=note>National choreographic centre Roubaix - Hauts-de-France</ref>
Colisée
Condition publique
Théâtre de l'Oiseau-Mouche "Le Garage"
Théâtre Louis Richard
Théâtre Pierre de Roubaix

Cinema

The city of Roubaix has a rich heritage in film production and been the filming location (mostly or partly) of the following productions:

I Am a Soldier (French: Je suis un soldat), directed by Laurent Larivière in 2015<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
My Golden Days (French: Trois souvenirs de ma jeunesse), directed by Arnaud Desplechin in 2015<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref><ref name=clb_ne>Template:Cite journal</ref>
Discount, directed by Louis-Julien Petit in 2014<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Queens of the Ring (French: Les Reines du ring), directed by Jean-Marc Rudnicki in 2013<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Blue Is the Warmest Colour (French: La Vie d'Adèle – Chapitres 1 & 2), directed by Abdellatif Kechiche in 2013<ref>Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
A Christmas Tale (French: Un conte de Noël), directed by Arnaud Desplechin in 2008<ref name=csa_aeh>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Banishment (Russian: Изгнание, Izgnanie), directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev in 2007<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
In His Hands (French: Entre ses mains), directed by Anne Fontaine in 2005<ref name="csa_aeh"/>
The Axe (French: Le couperet), directed by Costa-Gavras in 2005<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Save Me (French: Sauve-Moi), directed by Christian Vincent in 2000<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Flat Land Cities (French: Les Cités de la plaine), directed by Robert Kramer in 1999<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
The Dreamlife of Angels (French: La Vie rêvée des anges), directed by Erick Zonca in 1998<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=mos>Template:Cite book</ref>
Enigma, directed by Jeannot Szwarc in 1982<ref name="clb_ne"/>
Life Is a Long Quiet River (French: La vie est un long fleuve tranquille), directed by Étienne Chatiliez in 1988<ref name="clb_ne"/><ref name="csa_aeh"/>
Hurricane Rosy (Italian: Temporale Rosy, French: Rosy la bourrasque), directed by Mario Monicelli in 1979<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Swimming Instructor (French: Le Maître-nageur), directed by Jean-Louis Trintignant in 1979<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Body of My Enemy (French: Le Corps de mon ennemi), directed by Henri Verneuil in 1976<ref name="clb_ne"/><ref name="csa_aeh"/>
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 in 1970<ref name="clb_ne"/><ref name="csa_aeh"/>
Struggle in Italy (Italian: Lotte in Italia), directed by the Dziga Vertov Group in 1970<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>Template:Deprecated source

Higher education

The EDHEC Business School is one of the few Grandes École located outside the Paris Metropolitan Area.
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<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Libraries

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

Sport

Roubaix has an old sporting heritage<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and is home to the finish of one of the world's oldest races of professional road cycling at its velodrome: 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.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

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.<ref name=suz>Template:Cite book</ref>

Roubaix's high level of unemployment is a consequence of the deindustrialisation. The town is listed among France's poorest cities.<ref name="jnk"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Successive local governments have tried to address difficulties associated with deindustrialisation by attracting new industries, making the most of the town's cultural credentials<ref name=jnk>Template:Cite book</ref> 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, and seems to be on the way to reverse the decades of decline.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Textile industry

Nowadays, local textile companies are focusing on developing high-tech textile products.Template:Cn

Commerce and services

Mail order companies of international renown such as La Redoute,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Damart<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> and 3 Suisses,<ref>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> stemmed from textile industries which were founded in Roubaix. Showroomprive.com has been locally established since 2016 as an e-commerce company that specialises in online flash sales.Template:Fact

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Ankama Games has established its head office in Roubaix since 2007.<ref name=ankama>Template:Cite web</ref>
Blanchemaille, an e-commerce cluster helped by the incubator EuraTechnologies, has been established in the former building of La Redoute in Roubaix since 2014.Template:Fact

Transportation

A22 autoroute, a French part of the European route E17 from Burgundy 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 railway station offers connections to Antwerp, Lille, Ostend, Paris and Tourcoing.

The city is also served by the Lille Metro.

The city is served by Lille Airport, which is located Template:Convert south of Roubaix. However, the airport provides direct routes to other parts of France, Europe and Morocco. The nearest international airport is Brussels Airport, located Template:Convert north east of Roubaix.

Environmental perspectives

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, deindustrialisation dramatically influenced major urban landscapes across the arrondissement of Lille.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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.Template:Fact

Roubaix has one of the most efficient biomass district heating plant in France<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and is therefore among the most advanced cities for sustainability 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 future.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Notable people

Artists, musicians and actors

Francis Bousquet (1890–1942): Marseille-born composer
Étienne Chatiliez (1952–): film director
Rémy Cogghe (1846–1927): Belgian-born painter who resided in Roubaix
Jenny Clève (1930–2023): actress
Georges Delerue (1925–1992): composer who worked on over 350 scores for cinema and television
Roger Delmotte (1925–): classical trumpeter
Arnaud Desplechin (1960–): film director
Édouard Devernay (1889–1952): organist, composer
Philippe Dhondt (1965–): singer, songwriter and composer known as Boris
Yvonne Furneaux (1928–): film actress
Wanani Gradi Mariadi (1990–): rapper known as Gradur
Jules Gressier (1897–1960): conductor
Agnès Guillemot (1931–2005): film editor
Pierre Jansen (1930–2015): film music composer
Chantal Ladesou (1948–): actress and comedian
Philippe Lefebvre (1949–): musician, principal organist of Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris
Léon Mathot (1886–1968): film actor and director
Gustave Nadaud (1820–1893): songwriter and chansonnier
Viviane Romance (1912–1991): actress
Jean-Joseph Weerts (1846–1927): painter

Sportspeople

Template:Colbegin

Jean Alavoine (1888–1943): cyclist
Wassim Aouachria (2000–): football player
Arthur Balbaert (1879–1938): Belgian sports shooter
Georges Beaucourt (1912–2002): football player
Alain Bondue (1959–): racing cyclist
Saoussen Boudiaf (1993–): sabre fencer
Michel Breistroff (1971–1996): ice hockey playe
Jacques Carette (1947–): athlete
David Coulibaly (1978–): football player
Charles Crupelandt (1886–1955): Wattrelos-born professional road bicycle racer
Aliou Dia (1990–): football player
Yero Dia (1982–): football player
Pierre Dréossi (1959–): former football player, coach and football manager
Raymond Dubly (1893–1988): football player
Pierrick Gunther (1989–): rugby union player
Prudent Joye (1913–1980): track and field athlete
Seïd Khiter (1985–): football player
Anthony Knockaert (1991–): football player
Christophe Landrin (1977–): football midfielder
Jean-Christian Lang (1950–): football manager and former player
René Libeer (1934–2006): boxer
Christoffer Mafoumbi (1994–): football goalkeeper
Martial Mbandjock (1985–): sprinter
Icham Mouissi (1982–): Algerian football player
Moussa Niakhaté (1996–): football player
Gonzague Olivier (1921–2013): racing driver
Fatiha Ouali (1974–): race walker
Idir Ouali (1988–): football player
Jacques-Olivier Paviot (1976–): football player
Jacques Pollet (1922–1997): racing driver
Antoine Roussel (1989–): ice hockey player
Daouda Sow (1983–): boxer
Ahmed Touba (1998–): football player
Arnaud Tournant (1978–): track cyclist

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Politicians

Marie-Christine Blandin (1952–): politician, member of the Senate of France, representing the Nord department
Karima Delli (1979–): politician, Member of the European Parliament
André Diligent (1919–2002): lawyer and politician, World War II resistance activist, deputy to the National Assembly, senator-mayor of RoubaixTemplate:Cn
Jules Guesde (1845–1922): Paris-born socialist journalist and politician, deputy of the constituency of Roubaix to the National Assembly
Olivier Henno (1962–): politician, mayor of Saint-André-lez-Lille and general councillor
Pierre Herman (1910–1990): politician, deputy to the National AssemblyTemplate:Cn
Jean-Baptiste Lebas (1898–1944): politician, mayor of Roubaix, deputy to the National Assembly, World War I and II resistance activist, died in deportation custody
Louis Loucheur (1872–1931): writer and politician, deputy to the National Assembly
Auguste Mimerel (1786–1871), industrialist and politician
Florence Morlighem (1970–): politician, Member of Parliament
Eugène Motte (1860–1932): politician and businessman, mayor of Roubaix, deputy to the National AssemblyTemplate:Cn
Pierre Pflimlin (1907–2000): lawyer and politician, last Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic
Pierre Pribetich (1956–): politician, former Member of the European Parliament
Jean Prouvost (1885–1978): businessman, media owner and politician
Raymond Schmittlein (1904–1974): toponymist and politician, deputy to the National AssemblyTemplate:Cn
Alex Türk (1950–): politician, member of the Senate of France, representing the Nord department

Resistance fighters

Marie Léonie Vanhoutte (1888–1967): French resistance fighter and secret-agent during World War I.
Marcel Verfaillie (1911–1945): communist militant, World War II resistance activist against Nazism, died in concentration camp.Template:Cn

Businesspeople

Bernard Arnault (1949–): business magnate, investor and art collector
Gérard Mulliez (1931–): businessman, founder of the Auchan chain of department stores
Théodore Vienne (1864–1921): textile manufacturer and co-founder of Paris–Roubaix cycle race
Pierre Wibaux (1858–1913): cattle-rancher, banker and gold-mine owner, emigrated from France to the United States

Scientists

Bernard Amadei (1954–): professor of civil engineering at the University of Colorado, founder of Engineers Without Borders (USA)
Stanislas Dehaene (1965–): cognitive psychologist, professor at the Collège de France and author
Marguerite Dupire (1920–2015): ethnologist
Robert Jonckhèere (1888–1974): astronomer
Dominique Mulliez (1952–): epigrapher, archaeologist and Hellenist
Joseph Willot (1875–1919): pharmacist and World War I resistance activist

Writers and journalists

Richard Cobb (1917–1996): British social historian. Lived in Roubaix in the 1940s.
Yanette Delétang-Tardif (1902–1976): poet
Marie Desplechin (1959–): writer and journalist
Robert Diligent (1924–2014): journalist, founding members of Télé Luxembourg
Benoît Duquesne (1957–2014): journalist, television reporter and newscaster
Jules Feller (1859–1940): Romance linguist and philologist, Belgian academician and Walloon militant
Bruno Masure (1947–): journalist, news anchor and television presenter
Amédée Prouvost (1877–1909): poet
Maxence Van Der Meersch (1907–1951): writer

Other

Ferdinand Bonnel (1865–1945): Jesuit priest and missionary in Sri Lanka
Jean-Luc Brunin (1951–): clergyman, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Havre
Antoine Cordonnier (1892–1918): military aviator, flying ace during World War I
Jean-Robert de Cavel (1961–2022): French-American chef de cuisine
Jean Desbouvrie (c. 1840–1847-?): inventor and bird tamer
Jules Dumont (1888–1943): communist militant, commanded the Commune de Paris Battalion, a unit part of the XI International Brigade
Francis Pollet (1964–): general officer
Gérard Vachonfrance (1933–2008): physician and society co-founder
Charles Vanden Bosch (1883–1945): Belgian Roman Catholic Franciscan priest, founder of the Belgian National work for the Blind, died in concentration camp

Notes and references

Notes

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References