The Métropole Européenne de Lille (French pronunciation: [metʁɔpɔl øʁɔpeɛn də lil], MEL; English: "European Metropolis of Lille") is the métropole, an intercommunal structure, composed by a network of big cities (Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Villeneuve d'Ascq, Armentières etc.) 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 (259.4 sq mi). 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).
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History
The urban community was founded in 1967 with Augustin Laurent as its first president.
Then, in 1971, Arthur Notebart, Deputy Mayor of Lomme, succeeded him until the election of Pierre Mauroy in 1989.
After the March 2008 municipal elections, each city council sent delegates to the urban community, a total of 170 voting members.