Hauts-de-France

Hauts-de-France, région of northern France created in 2016 by the union of the former régions of Nord–Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. It encompasses the départements of Aisne, Nord, Oise, Pas-de-Calais, and Somme. It is bounded by the régions of Normandy to the west, Île-de-France to the south, and Grand Est to the east. Belgium lies to the north. The capital is Lille.

In June 2014 French Pres. François Hollande announced a plan to reduce the number of régions in metropolitan France from 21 to 13. The reorganization was designed to address redundancies in regional bureaucracies and to reduce costs. In November 2014 the National Assembly approved the measure, and it took effect on January 1, 2016. The région of Nord–Pas-de-Calais–Picardy was thus created. That spring, residents voiced their preference for a different permanent name for the new région. In March 2016 the regional council voted overwhelmingly in favour of Hauts-de-France (“Upper France”) over Terres-du-Nord (“Land of the North”) and Nord-de-France (“North of France”). Both the name and the selection of Lille as the regional capital were confirmed by the Conseil d’État in September 2016. Area 12,280 square miles (31,806 square km). Pop. (2015 est.) 6,009,976.