Fourmies, Nord

Geography

Fourmies is situated in the Euroregion of Thiérache, a region of Northern France and Southern Belgium. It is 50 km from Valenciennes, 100 km from Lille, and 175 km from Paris. The city is surrounded by forests and ponds.

History

Roman coins have been discovered in Fourmies. In the 11th century, the town was first mentioned under the name "Formeias", which may refer to the swamp area in the valley of the river Helpe Mineure. Since the 12th century, the village has been called Formies, Furmies, Formies, Formiis and Fourmies. At one time it was property of the Avesnes family, and the Liessies Abbey.

Glassworks were created in Fourmies in 1599. They were the first established in northern France.

On 1 May 1891 the Fusillade de Fourmies occurred. It was the first French and international celebration of International Workers' Day on May Day. In Fourmies, troops shot at peaceful strikers: nine died, including eight demonstrators under 21 years old, among whom a young worker who will remain a symbol, Marie Blondeau. Thirty-five strikers were also wounded.

Fusillade de Fourmies

On May 1, 1891, a shooting occurred in the French Nord department. Government troops fired upon a peaceful demonstration of workers claiming "C'est les huit heures qu'il nous faut !" (It's the eight-hour day we need!), killing nine people and injuring 35 others.

The shooting of 1 May in Fourmies evoked strong emotions in France. It is regarded today as one of the founding events of the French Section of the Workers' International. Jean Jaurès visited Fourmies afterwards to make a speech there while Georges Clemenceau declared in front of the French Parliament that "it is the Fourth estate which rose" (« c'est le Quatrième état qui s'est levé ». ).

Heraldry

Gules, 3 fesses argent (Croÿ) dimidiated with Bendy Or and gules (Avesnes)

Population

|graph-pos = right |1968 |15117 |1975 |15505 |1982 |15242 |1990 |14505 |1999 |13867 |2007 |13233 |2012 |12663 |2017 |11727

Events

• Every year, since 1928, the city hosts the Grand Prix de Fourmies, a professional cycle race.
• The music festival (fête de la musique)
• The traditional fun fair (traditionnelle fête foraine) attracts many people each summer.

Economy

Medtronic has an assembly plant in Fourmies.

Transportation

Fourmies is on the rail line between Lille and Hirson. The SNCF station (Gare de Formies) is served by the TER Nord-Pas-de-Calais.

It is planned to be crossed by the Trans-European Cycle Route Paris-Moscow knowns as EV3 The Pilgrims Route.

The Arc-en-Ciel (réseau interurbain du Nord) interurban departmental network in Hauts de France Nord provides bus service to the city of Fourmies in the 4 region (lines 402 express, 402, 433, 438 and 439).

Twin towns – sister cities

Fourmies is twinned with:

• USA Fridley, United States (1978)
• GER Bernburg, Germany (1967)

References

References

1. (13 September 2022). "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises.
2. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/metadonnees/geographie/commune/59249-fourmies Commune de Fourmies (59249)], [[Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques. INSEE]]
3. "Décret n° 2014-167 du 17 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département du Nord | Legifrance".
4. [http://www.mairie-fourmies.fr/-Patrimoine-de-Fourmies- Patrimoine de Fourmies] auf den Webseiten der Gemeinde
5. Eugène Mannier, ''Études étymologiques, historiques et comparatives sur les noms des villes, bourgs et villages du département du Nord''. 1861. S. 355
6. [http://www.mairie-fourmies.fr/spip.php?article136 Chronologie] auf den Webseiten der Gemeinde
7. {{Cite EB1911
8. (6 May 1891). "The May Day Labour Demonstration". Guardian (UK).
9. [https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-59249#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE
10. "Locations". medtronic.com.
11. [https://en.eurovelo.com/ev3/france French part of EuroVelo 3, called "La Scandibérique"]. Eurovelo.com, retrieved March 31, 2023
12. [https://arcenciel.hautsdefrance.fr/arcenciel4/ Arc en ciel 4] Hauts de France, retrieved March 31, 2023
13. "Jumelage". Fourmies.