Pas-de-Calais

The Calais Passage connects to the Port of Calais on the English Channel. The Pas-de-Calais borders the departments of Nord and Somme and is connected to the English county of Kent via the Channel Tunnel.

• Name — Pas-de-Calais • Native Name — Pas-Calés • Type — Department • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — France • Subdivision Type1 — Region • Subdivision Name1 — Hauts-de-France • Seat Type — Prefecture • Seat — Arras • Parts Type — Subprefectures • Parts Style — para • P1 — Béthune • P2 — Boulogne-sur-Mer • P3 — Calais • P4 — Lens • P5 — Montreuil • P6 — Saint-Omer • Leader Title — President of the Departmental Council • Leader Name — Jean-Claude Leroy • Unit Pref — Metric • Area Total Km2 — 6706 • Population Rank — 7th • Population Density Km2 — auto • Custom Label Sec1 — Department number • Custom Data Sec1 — 62 • Custom Label Sec2 — Arrondissements • Custom Data Sec2 — 7 • Custom Label1 Sec2 — Cantons • Custom Data1 Sec2 — 39 • Custom Label2 Sec2 — Communes • Custom Data2 Sec2 — 887 • Time Zone1 — CET • Utc Offset1 — +1 • Time Zone1 Dst — CEST • Utc Offset1 Dst — +2 • Iso Code — FR-62 • Footnotes — area French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km 2 • Governing Body — Departmental Council of Pas-de-Calais

Inhabited since prehistoric times, the Pas-de-Calais region was populated in turn by the Celtic Belgae, the Romans, the Germanic Franks and the Alemanni. During the fourth and fifth centuries, the Roman practice of co-opting Germanic tribes to provide military and defence services along the route from Boulogne-sur-Mer to Cologne created a Germanic-Romance linguistic border in the region that persisted until the eighth century. Saxon colonization into the region from the fifth to the eighth centuries likely extended the linguistic border somewhat south and west so that by the ninth century most inhabitants north of the line between Béthune and Berck spoke a dialect of Middle Dutch, while the inhabitants to the south spoke Picard, a variety of Romance dialects. This linguistic border is still evident today in the toponyms and patronyms of the region. Beginning in the ninth century, the linguistic border began a steady move to north and the east. Pas-de-Calais is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Calaisis, formerly English, Boulonnais, Ponthieu and Artois, this last formerly part of the Spanish Netherlands. Some of the costliest battles of World War I were fought in the region. The Canadian National Vimy Memorial, 8 km from Arras, commemorates the Battle of Vimy Ridge assault during the Battle of Arras (1917) and is Canada's most important memorial in Europe to its fallen soldiers. Pas-de-Calais was also the target of Operation Fortitude during World War II, which was an Allied plan to deceive the Germans that the invasion of Europe at D-Day was to occur here, rather than in Normandy.

• Illustration — Cities > 10,000 inhabitants • Illustration — View of the English coast, from Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais is in the current region of Hauts-de-France and is surrounded by the departments of Nord and Somme, the English Channel, and the North Sea. It shares a maritime border with the English county of Kent in the United Kingdom halfway through the Channel Tunnel. The principal rivers are the following: • Authie • Canche • Ternoise • Liane • Sensée • Scarpe • Deûle • Lys • Aa

Its principal towns are, on the coast, Calais and Boulogne-sur-Mer, and in Artois, Arras, Lens, Liévin, and Béthune. The most populous commune is Calais; the prefecture Arras is the second-most populous. As of 2023, there are 10 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants: • Commune — Population (2023) • Calais — 67,571 • Arras — 42,875 • Boulogne-sur-Mer — 40,539 • Lens — 32,920 • Liévin — 30,063 • Hénin-Beaumont — 25,688 • Béthune — 25,224 • Bruay-la-Buissière — 21,424 • Carvin — 17,909 • Avion — 17,435

The economy of the department was long dependent on mining, primarily the coal mines near the town of Lens, Pas-de-Calais where coal was discovered in 1849. However, since World War II, the economy has become more diversified.

The inhabitants of the department are called Pas-de-Calaisiens. Pas-de-Calais is one of the most densely populated departments of France, but has no cities with over 100,000 residents: Calais has about 68,000 inhabitants. The remaining population is primarily concentrated along the border with the department of Nord in the mining district, where a string of small towns constitutes an urban area with a population of about 1.2 million. The centre and south of the department are more rural, but still quite heavily populated, with many villages and small towns. Although the department saw some of the heaviest fighting of World War I, its population rebounded quickly after both world wars. However, many of the mining towns have seen dramatic decreases in population, some up to half of their population. Population development since 1801:

The president of the Departmental Council is Jean-Claude Leroy, elected in 2017.

In the second round of the French presidential elections of 2017 Pas-de-Calais was one of only two departments in which the candidate of the Front National, Marine Le Pen, received a majority of the votes cast: 52.06%.

• Election — Winning candidate — Party — % — 2nd place candidate — Party — % • 2022 — Marine Le Pen — FN — 57.49 — Emmanuel Macron — LREM — 42.51 • 2017 — Marine Le Pen — FN — 52.06 — Emmanuel Macron — LREM — 47.94 • 2012 — François Hollande — PS — 56.18 — Nicolas Sarkozy — UMP — 43.82 • 2007 — Ségolène Royal — PS — 52.04 — Nicolas Sarkozy — UMP — 47.96 • 2002 — Jacques Chirac — RPR — 77.83 — Jean-Marie Le Pen — FN — 22.17 • 1995 — Lionel Jospin — PS — 57.28 — Jacques Chirac — RPR — 42.72

• Constituency — Member — Party • Pas-de-Calais's 1st constituency — Emmanuel Blairy — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 2nd constituency — Agnès Pannier-Runacher — Renaissance • Pas-de-Calais's 3rd constituency — Bruno Clavet — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 4th constituency — Philippe Fait — Renaissance • Pas-de-Calais's 5th constituency — Antoine Golliot — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 6th constituency — Christine Engrand — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 7th constituency — Marc de Fleurian — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 8th constituency — Auguste Evrard — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 9th constituency — Caroline Parmentier — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 10th constituency — Thierry Frappé — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency — Marine Le Pen — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 12th constituency — Bruno Bilde — National Rally

• Constituency — Member — Party • Pas-de-Calais's 1st constituency — Bruno Duvergé — MoDem • Pas-de-Calais's 2nd constituency — Jacqueline Maquet — La République En Marche! • Pas-de-Calais's 3rd constituency — Emmanuel Blairy — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 4th constituency — Daniel Fasquelle — The Republicans • Pas-de-Calais's 5th constituency — Jean-Pierre Pont — La République En Marche! • Pas-de-Calais's 6th constituency — Brigitte Bourguignon — La République En Marche! • Pas-de-Calais's 7th constituency — Pierre-Henri Dumont — The Republicans • Pas-de-Calais's 8th constituency — Benoît Potterie — La République En Marche! • Pas-de-Calais's 9th constituency — Marguerite Deprez-Audebert — MoDem • Pas-de-Calais's 10th constituency — Myriane Houplain — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 11th constituency — Marine Le Pen — National Rally • Pas-de-Calais's 12th constituency — Bruno Bilde — National Rally

• Illustration — The Université d'Artois' campus in Lens sits in the ancient headquarters of Compagnie des mines. There are currently two public universities in the department. Although it is one of the most populous departments of France, Pas-de-Calais did not contain a university until 1991 when the French government created two universities: ULCO (Université du Littoral Côte d'Opale) on the western part of the department, and Université d'Artois on the eastern part.

• Illustration — Mussel aquaculture in Wissant • Illustration — Cap Gris Nez • Illustration — Cap Blanc Nez • Illustration — Boulogne-sur-Mer • Illustration — Nausicaä • Illustration — Le Touquet • Illustration — Notre Dame de Lorette • Illustration — Canadian National Vimy Memorial, 11 km from Arras • Illustration — Liberty Leading the People on permanent display in Louvre-Lens since 2012 • Illustration — Blockhaus d'Éperlecques • Illustration — Todt Battery, Audinghen • Illustration — Grand-Place of Arras