Regional identity and industrial heritage in the mining area of Nord-Pas-de-Calais

Abstract

The Racing Club club itself appeared as the bearer of regional identity, exemplifying the same local popular culture – so eminently positive and likeable – that was portrayed so well in the box office success Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis . The first French associations to fight for the recognition of industrial heritage emerged, such as Committee for Industrial Archaeology in 1979, which is made up of academics and local associations. Several government-commissioned reports cited persistent economic and social problems in the mining area, as well as the repulsive appearance of its landscapes of industrial wasteland. Without doubt, the Nord basin and its miners were depicted quite somberly. The Socialist majority of the regional council in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais, along with its president, Daniel Percheron, frequently played the 'heritage card,' as demonstrated by their fervent support for the Louvre-Lens project. In French eyes, the Nord mining basin has been the symbol of the mining world since the second half of the nineteenth century.

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