Encyclopedia

Wasquehal

Commune in Hauts-de-France, France

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Source updated July 19, 2026

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Wasquehal (traditional pronunciation [wakal]; currently common pronunciation [waskal]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.

The town originally had a Flemish name; it was written as Waskenhal in the 11th century.

01Geography

Wasquehal has an area of 6.86 km² (2.65 sq mi) and a population density of 2,702.8/km².

Héraldique

**Arms of Wasquehal**
	The arms of Wasquehal are blazoned : Chequy argent and gules, each argent piece charged with an ermine spot sable. or, more simply, Chequy ermine and gules.

02Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1793	1,440	,
1800	1,262	−1.87%
1806	1,525	+3.21%
1821	1,622	+0.41%
1831	1,590	−0.20%
1836	1,672	+1.01%
1841	1,758	+1.01%
1846	2,034	+2.96%
1851	2,040	+0.06%
1856	2,200	+1.52%
1861	2,501	+2.60%
1866	2,731	+1.78%
1872	2,824	+0.56%
1876	3,061	+2.04%
1881	3,275	+1.36%
1886	3,688	+2.40%
1891	4,405	+3.62%
1896	4,901	+2.16%
1901	5,969	+4.02%

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1906	6,703	+2.35%
1911	7,011	+0.90%
1921	7,041	+0.04%
1926	8,507	+3.86%
1931	11,707	+6.59%
1936	12,167	+0.77%
1946	11,741	−0.36%
1954	12,363	+0.65%
1962	13,634	+1.23%
1968	14,274	+0.77%
1975	16,391	+2.00%
1982	16,275	−0.10%
1990	17,986	+1.26%
1999	18,541	+0.34%
2007	18,989	+0.30%
2012	20,536	+1.58%
2017	20,479	−0.06%
2023	20,726	+0.20%

Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2023)

03Sport

Wasquehal hosted the finish of stage 4 of the 1989 Tour de France, won by Jelle Nijdam, and the finish of stage 5 the 1992 Tour de France, won by Guido Bontempi. The third stage of the 2004 Tour de France also finished in Wasquehal. Jean-Patrick Nazon won the mass sprint ahead of Erik Zabel and Robbie McEwen. Wasquehal also hosted the start of stage 7 of the 1988 Tour de France, and the start of stage 3 of the 1996 Tour de France.

The city's football team is the Wasquehal FC. It went bankrupt and disappeared in June 2026.

The city acquired its municipal ice rink (patinoire Serge-Charles) from Albertville's Olympic Committee and inaugurated it in 1995.

04Economy

International robotics manufacturer Exotec inaugurated its new headquarters in Wasquehal in March 2026.

05Monuments

Wasquehal's church Saint-Clément was built in 1912. It was closed for renovation from 2016 to 2023.

06Twin towns, sister cities

Wasquehal is twinned with:

Beyne-Heusay, Belgium

Watch videos about WasquehalExplainers and documentaries on YouTube (opens in a new tab)

Sources and credits

This article is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Wasquehal”, written by its contributors and licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Fathomly has changed the layout, removed citation markers, navigation and maintenance notices, and adjusted punctuation. This adapted version is shared under the same license. For references, see the original article.

Images, from Wikimedia Commons:

Église catholique Saint-Clément, rue Clément Béthune, Wasquehal.jpg by Friedrich Tellberg, CC0
Blason ville fr Wasquehal (Nord).svg by Unknown author, CC BY-SA 4.0

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