TIME EUROPE
June 12, 2000 VOL. 155 NO. 23
Vive Les Regions
Key provincial cities are emerging as the new vectors of economic development and cultural expression
Lyons | Toulouse | Strasbourg | Lille
Strasbourg
By KATE NOBLE Strasbourg
It was in the salon of the mayor of Strasbourg in 1792 that Lieut. Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle first performed his patriotic composition, the War Song of the Rhine Army. Quickly adopted by other regiments, the stirring air was taken to Paris by troops from Marseilles who, quite naturally, renamed it the Marseillaise. It is ironic that France's national anthem should have originated in a city that has swapped nationality time and again throughout its 2,000-year history. But then Strasbourg is a place of incongruities. It is at the same time French and German, ancient and modern, cosmopolitan and provincial. And after symbolizing strife in the heart of Europe — the successive wars that bloodied the Alsatian soil over the centuries — Strasbourg now emerges as a proud and dazzling emblem of European concord.
The city's history is etched into its medieval cobblestones and Germanic façades. The narrow streets that wind through the center of town are lined with steeply roofed, half-timbered houses clustered around the pink sandstone cathedral. At the confluence of the River Ill and the Rhine-Marne canal, the sculptural modern buildings that house the Council of Europe, the European Parliament and the Court of Human Rights point to a Strasbourg that has finally taken on a trans-European identity. "Strasbourg," says Mayor Roland Ries, "is perfectly placed at the heart of Europe, at a junction of the Latin world — southern France, Italy, Spain — and the Germanic world — Germany, Denmark, the Netherlands, Britain. It symbolizes at the same time the tearing apart and the reconciliation of Europe."
After World War II, when French and German leaders decided to build a united Europe rather than risk future conflicts, no city seemed a more fitting host for the new European institutions than the Alsatian capital. Thus the Council of Europe established its home in Strasbourg in May 1949, followed by the European Parliament in 1958 and the European Court of Human Rights two years later. More recently Eurocorps, the fledgling European army, has made its headquarters in the city. Meanwhile, other important international and national bodies, like France's training school for the political élite, the Ecole Nationale d'Administration, have also chosen the city as a base.
But what is leading the march into the future is Strasbourg's prominence as a center of scientific and medical research. The city is home to three major universities, comprising 50,000 students. The Research Institute for Cancer of the Digestive System (IRCAD) is one of the world's foremost schools of minimal invasive surgery, a procedure that was first performed by a French surgeon in 1988. Since its opening in 1995 ircad has taught more than 5,000 surgeons the latest techniques in laparoscopic surgery.
Strasbourg's outstanding medical and scientific expertise has helped fuel a dynamic regional economy. "Alsace in general and Strasbourg in particular have experienced better economic growth than the rest of France," notes Jean-Louis English, regional director of France-3 television. "At the same time we have only 6% unemployment, the lowest rate in France." Strasbourg ranks second in France in terms of attracting new business.
The Alsatian capital is also remarkable for its vibrant cultural life. The only French city outside Paris to have a national theater, Strasbourg boasts its own philharmonic orchestra and opera house, and annually hosts France's biggest festival of contemporary music. Not least of its charms is a local lifestyle that combines the best of French and German traditions — cafés and winstube, Pinot Noirs and Rieslings, foie gras and sauerkraut, éclairs and strudel. For a city that was so long a victim of history, living well is the best revenge.
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Lille
By AISHA LABI Lille
No French city better illustrates the dynamic of regionalization than Lille, whose geography and history have made it the hub of a prosperous arc of Europe that includes parts of Belgium, Germany and even Britain. With the birth of the euro, the elimination of border restrictions and the creation of a single market, Lille has emerged as a vibrant pan-European city in place of the depressed French backwater it once was.
Perched at the northern tip of France just across the border from Belgium and some 125 km from the English Channel, Lille bestrides one of Europe's key intersections. Over the centuries, the city and its environs have been ruled by England, Spain, the Netherlands and France, producing a mixed heritage that is reflected in everything from the local cuisine — plenty of mussels, frites and beer — to its diverse architecture, juxtaposing heavily ornamented Flemish façades with elegant French-style civic buildings. An influx of Portuguese and Polish immigrants between the two World Wars, and North Africans in the postwar decades, has also contributed to the region's rich social and cultural mélange.
Today the Nord-Pas de Calais region, of which Lille is the capital, is a more vital crossroads than ever. As a hub of the Eurostar routes between London and the Continent as well as the north-south TGV lines, the city is a natural point of passage for rail travelers from Paris and the south to virtually all of northern Europe. Lille's proximity to Brussels has allowed the French city to promote itself as a European base for commerce and finance and helped transform it into the center of a thriving metropolitan region. Economic growth and expanded university facilities have attracted immigrants and students, making Nord-Pas de Calais the most densely settled region in France after Paris and giving it the nation's youngest population: nearly one in three residents is under 20.
Lille's resurgence owes much to the efforts of its long-time mayor, former Socialist Prime Minister Pierre Mauroy. When Mauroy entered office in 1973, Lille was mired in depression, suffering from the decline of the textile and mining industries that formed the region's economic backbone. With reformist zeal, Mauroy poured money into ambitious public projects, redefining the city's boundaries and the fundamental nature of what was then a neglected provincial town.
It didn't hurt that Mauroy also served as Prime Minister under Socialist President François Mitterrand. In that capacity, he helped engineer a 1982 decentralization that transferred substantial budgetary authority from Paris to the regions and made sure that Lille would benefit from this increased autonomy. Mauroy later used his clout with Mitterrand to ensure that the Eurostar passed through Lille en route from Paris to Calais.
Still vigorous at 72, the burly, square-shouldered Mauroy will leave office next year, bequeathing to Lille an enduring legacy. The most spectacular of his undertakings is Euralille, a gleaming modern complex that houses the TGV and Eurostar stations, offices and a multistory shopping center. Mauroy also promoted an innovative metro system of driverless, computerized trains that was developed for Lille and has since been exported around the world. These projects have come at a cost — including a higher tax burden than other regions — but Mauroy is unapologetic. "I promised the citizens of Lille that I would transform their city and I did," he says. "I am not a magician, these things have a price."
Though he will soon retire as mayor, Mauroy is not yet ready to leave the civic stage. He will continue as president of the metropolitan council and plans to seek re-election as senator next year. He may not be overseeing Lille from his familiar Hôtel de Ville office, but for years to come Mauroy plans to keep a watchful eye over the city he has done so much to revive.
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June 12, 2000
SPECIAL REPORT
French Connected
Despite a legacy of state control, and an archaic political leadership, France is thriving — and modernizing — in the face of global competition
Venture Playground
A new spirit of entrepreneurship has created a thriving culture for Internet start-ups and fueled the country's robust growth. How the new economy is changing the way the French do business — and reshaping the nation itself
French Exodus
Driven out by excessive taxes and red tape, and also by a spirit of adventure, more and more French men and women are taking their talents abroad
Mixing Bowl
The French don't like to admit it, but decades of immigration have produced a multicultural society that is reinvigorating the nation
Vive Les Regions
Key provincial cities are emerging as the new vectors of economic development and cultural expression
From Decline to Renewal
Stanley Hoffman on France's success as a modern, middle-size power
EUROPE
The Victory Lap?
Europe toasts Clinton one more time, but the Atlantic relationship is showing strain
Soft Power Politics
Europe and the U.S. must seek a world beyond winners and losers
Battle of the Basques
Political inertia combines with disunity and distrust among Spain's national and regional security forces to play into the hands of the terrorist group ETA
Expensive Exposure
Hanover hopes Expo 2000 will put it on the map. It surely will, but the price of publicity will be high
Lights, Camera, Shoot!
Police disguised as a TV crew trick a man to free children and teachers held hostage in Luxembourg
AFRICA
Reliving Apartheid Horrors
The trial of a South African cardiologist accused of murder reopens old wounds
BUSINESS
Ad Land Goes Cyber
Virtual agencies are using the Web to create campaigns in record time, and without the bureaucracy
The Game of the Name
The struggle for Web dominance shows that brands matter just as much in the new economy as in the old
The Wide Blue Yonder
Giant airships could become commercially viable again six decades after the Hindenburg disaster
Battle Below the Belt
Designer Calvin Klein goes to court claiming a business partner is destroying his brand's image
SOCIETY
Tangled Webs for Sale
Planning a tryst or a day at the races away from the boss? A Scottish firm can cover your tracks — for a fee
THE ARTS
Recreating a Jewel
Egypt has built an updated version of the fabled Bibliotheca Alexandrina, but its commitment to intellectual freedom remains an open question
Thandie Makes It Possible
Her mission: to help make M:I-2 the hottest movie of the season. But first she tells you about Hollywood stupidity (and Tom's unusual sense of humor)
The Daily Courage
Journalist Benjamin Pogrund let the facts speak for themselves, no easy task in apartheid South Africa
DEPARTMENTS
Essay
To Our Readers
World Watch
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