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 Métropole Européenne de Lille is the métropole, an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities whose major city is the city of Lille. It is located in the Nord department, in the Hauts-de-France region, northern France – bordering both the Flemish and Walloon regions of Belgium. It was created in January 2015, replacing the previous Communauté urbaine de Lille, and covers that part of the Lille metropolitan area that lies in France. Its area is 671.9 km2. Its population was 1,179,050 in 2019, of which 234,475 in Lille proper. The annual budget of the métropole is €1,865 billion (2018).
The Lille 1 University of Science and Technology was a French university located on a dedicated main campus in Villeneuve d'Ascq, near Lille, with 20,000 full-time students plus 14,500 students in continuing education (2004). 1,310 permanent faculty members plus 1,200 staff and around 140 CNRS researchers work there in the different University Lille 1 institutes and 43 research labs. University Lille 1 was a member of the European Doctoral College Lille Nord de France, which produces 400 doctorate dissertations every year. The university is ranked in the world top 200 universities in mathematics by the Shanghai ranking.
The arrondissement of Lille is an arrondissement of France in the Nord department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 124 communes. Its population is 1,260,060 (2021), and its area is 879.5 km2 (339.6 sq mi).
Decathlon is a French sporting goods retailer. With over 2,082 stores in 79 countries and regions (2024), it is the largest sporting goods retailer in the world.
The Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III was a French university. Since 1974, the main campus of University of Lille III was located in Villeneuve d'Ascq in eastern Lille, at Pont de Bois metro station, and includes 21,000 students.
The Bazar de l'Hôtel de Ville or Le BHV is a French department store chain with its flagship location at 52 Rue de Rivoli in the 4th arrondissement of Paris and faces the Hôtel de Ville where it gets its name, the flagship is served by the Hôtel de Ville Metro station. The chain is owned by Groupe SGM. The chain operates two full line stores and four specialised stores alongside the main stores.
Eugène Dodeigne was a French sculptor living and working at Bondues (Nord-Pas-de-Calais).
Dean Bergeron is a Paralympic athlete from Canada who competed mainly in category T52 sprint events in four Paralympic Games and is pursuing a career as an actuary.
Verisure, formerly known as Securitas Direct is a security company based in Versoix, close to Geneva in Switzerland and active in 17 countries in Europe and South America. Hellman & Friedman is currently the main shareholder in the group.
L'Enchaîné du Nord et du Pas-de-Calais was a Communist Party weekly newspaper published from Lille, France, published on Fridays. Stêphane Dubled was the editor-in-chief of l'Enchaîné.
The 2nd constituency of Nord is a French legislative constituency in the Nord département.
Promod is a French women's ready-to-wear retailer operating in France, Belgium, Switzerland and Luxembourg. The clothing brand can be found in their own shops, or in concessions inside larger retail shops.
Maisons du Monde is a French furniture and home decor company founded in Brest in 1996 by Xavier Marie. At the end of 2015, it had nearly 250 stores across France, Italy, Spain, Luxembourg, Belgium, Germany, and in Switzerland, of which more than 180 are in France. In 2010, it generated nearly €323 million in sales. In 2015, it employed over 5,500 people.
The University of Lille is a French public research university based in Lille, Hauts-de-France. It has its origins in the University of Douai (1559), and resulted from the merger of three universities – Lille 1 University of Science and Technology, Lille 2 University of Health and Law, and Charles de Gaulle University – Lille III in 2018. With more than 80,000 students, it is one of the largest universities in France and one of the largest French-speaking universities in the world.
Lille OSC is a French women's football club based in Villeneuve-d'Ascq. The club is the female section of Ligue 1 men's club Lille OSC. The club was founded in 2005. Since 2017, they currently play in the Seconde Ligue, the second-highest division of women's football in France.
Stéphane François is a French political scientist who specializes on radical right-wing movements. He also studies conspiracy theories, political ecology and countercultures.
The International Association of Department Stores (IADS) is a retail trade association founded in 1928 by a group of department stores with the goal of introducing modern management methods derived from the scientific management movement to their retail format.
Janelle Illona Salaün is a French basketball player who plays for Familia Schio.
Rachid Meziane is a French professional basketball coach who is the head coach of the Connecticut Sun of the Women’s National Basketball Association and the Belgian women's national team. He will continue to be the head coach of Villeneuve-d'Ascq until the end of 2024.
