Villeneuve-d’Ascq is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. With more than 60,000 inhabitants and 50,000 students, it is one of the main cities of the Métropole Européenne de Lille and the largest in area (27.46 km²) after Lille; it is also one of the main cities of the Hauts-de-France region.
The city counts approximately 10 km2 (3.9 sq mi) of greenspace, lakes, forests and arable lands. It is located between Lille and Roubaix, at the crossroads of the principal freeways towards Paris, Ghent, Antwerp and Brussels.
| Country | France |
|---|---|
| Region | Hauts-de-France |
| Department | Nord |
| Mayor (2020–2026) | Gérard Caudron |
| Area1 | 22.66 km2 (8.75 sq mi) |
| Population (2017-01-01) | 63,408 |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
Villeneuve-d’Ascq is nicknamed the ‘green technopole’ thanks to the implantation of many researchers — two campus of the University of Lille; many graduate engineering schools — and companies in a pleasant living environment.
Owing to its activity centres, its Haute Borne European scientific park and two shopping malls, Villeneuve-d’Ascq is one of the main economic spots of the Hauts-de-France region; multinational corporations such as Bonduelle, Cofidis and Decathlon have their head office there.
Outside its academic, scientific and business facilities, Villeneuve-d’Ascq is mostly known because of its sporting events – two stadiums (Stade Pierre-Mauroy and Stadium Lille Métropole) are located there and some of its sport teams are playing in the top division; its museums – the most famous is the one of modern, contemporary and outsider art (the LaM); its green ways and its medical facilities for disabled people.
Economy
Businesses and public organizations
Different kinds of businesses have their headquarters in Villeneuve d’Ascq because of the availability of land, the presence of researchers (in particular in the Cité Scientifique and Haute Borne) and the proximity to both Benelux and Paris economic regions.
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.
Villeneuve d’Ascq also hosts numerous administration and public organizations offices. 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. There was also a Rhône-Poulenc chemical factory, now housing offices of mail order company 3 Suisses.
Shops and trade
Two huge shopping centers are located in the technopole. The indoor/roofed Centre commercial V2, founded in 1977, which, when created, was the largest shopping center north of Paris and is still the largest in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais area. A new outdoor one opened in 2009, Heron Parc, a 13,000 m2 shopping center located near V2, hosting numerous stores of Groupe Auchan 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).
Universities and tertiary institutions
The city hosts two main campuses of the University of Lille : “Cité Scientifique” (Science and Technology); and “Pont de Bois” (Social sciences, Humanities, Literature and Arts). Those two campuses count a half of the Community of Universities and Institutions (COMUE) Lille Nord de France students.
Villeneuve d’Ascq hosts also a University Institute for Technology (IUT A), the school in architecture École nationale supérieure d’architecture et de paysage de Lille.
Primary and secondary education
There are 20 public maternelles (preschools/nurseries), 17 public élémentaires (primary schools), and 6 public combined preschools and elementary schools. There are also five public collèges (junior high schools): Camille Claudel, Simone de Beauvoir, Moliere, Rimbaud, and Triolo.
Miscellaneous education
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),
- IFSTTAR (Institut national de recherche sur les transports et leur sécurité),
- 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).
Transportation
As a part of the Métropole Européenne de Lille, Villeneuve-d’Ascq is connected to Lille city centre by a VAL. 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).
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.
Sport
Honours and statistics
In 2009, 21,700 inhabitants had a sport licence in the 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% of the city operating budget is dedicated to sport.
The city has 10.99 hectares of soccer and rugby fields, 5,010 m2of track and field facilities and 30 km (19 mi) of hiking trails.
Facilities
Villeneuve d’Ascq has two swimming pools (‘piscine du Triolo’ and ‘centre nautique Babylone’) both equipped with a 50m long water slide, an outside grass area, saunas and a training gym.
The city hosts two major stadiums, Stadium Lille Métropole (21,650 seats) and Stade Pierre-Mauroy (50,186 seats).
Villeneuve d’Ascq have 16 soccer fields, 2 rugby fields (stadium E. Théry, Tradition street), 17 municipal gymnasiums 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) dedicated to gymnastics.
The city hosts a sailing base, two shooting galleries, a bow and arrow gallery, two golf courses, 12 tennis courts, two athletics facilities (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.
Sporting events and teams
Football (soccer)
Villeneuve d’Ascq is home to several football teams which play 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).
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 Stade Pierre-Mauroy was selected by the Fédération française de football (FFF) to host matches in the UEFA Euro 2016, hosted by France.
Rugby
Villeneuve d’Ascq is home to a rugby union 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 Stadium Nord frequently hosts 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 field (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.
Other sports
Villeneuve d’Ascq has a famous basketball club, ESB Villeneuve-d’Ascq which plays in Ligue Féminine de Basketball.
The city has also an american football club, Vikings de Villeneuve d’Ascq (Division 2) and a handball club, Hand Ball Club Villeneuve d’Ascq (HBCV) (Division 2).
The cycling tournament Tour de France arrived in Villeneuve d’Ascq in 1988.
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 (LaM). One can visit the forum of sciences François Mitterrand, the rebuildings of a Gaulois village to the archeological park Asnapio.
