Building a common territory: Lille's bid for the Olympic Games

Lille's candidacy for organising the 2004 Olympic Games should be viewed in a very special context. It is in a region whose landscapes have been massacred by industrial activity whose collapse has recently led to the loss of five hundred thousand jobs. Yet the region has plenty of assets and is capable of picking itself up. Pierre Mauroy has set about giving the region back its rightful pride : a large orchestra has been formed, the building of the Channel Tunnel was launched here, Lille was chosen as the site of the northern European TGV rail hub, and the city put forward its candidacy for the Olympic Games. The region has finally been won back and Lille now has an international reputation.