Arras, town, capital of Pas-de-Calais département, Hauts-de-Francerégion, former capital of Artois, northern France. It lies on the Scarpe River, southwest of Lille.
Of Gallo-Roman origin, it was the chief town (Nemetacum or Nemetocenna) of the Atrebates, one of the last Gallic peoples to surrender to Julius Caesar. The woollen industry dates from the 4th century. The Middle Ages was a period of great material and cultural wealth, when Arras became the English word for tapestry hangings. The fortunes of the town followed those of troubled Artois, and it passed through many hands before being joined for the last time to France in 1659 by the Treaty of the Pyrenees. A peace treaty (1435) was signed there by Philip III (the Good) of Burgundy and Charles VII of France. The Peace of Arras in 1482 fixed the northern frontiers of modern France. From 1479 to 1484 Louis XI, after razing the walls, ordered a mass deportation of citizens. Arras was the birthplace of Maximilien de Robespierre. The French Revolution and both World Wars destroyed many of its ancient buildings. The town centres on two arcaded and gabled squares, the Grande and Petite. The reconstructed 16th-century Gothic Hôtel de Ville is on the Petite Place.
Arras is an administrative and commercial centre and more recently a university town, housing a branch of the University of Artois. The town was never as heavily industrialized as the urban centres of the former coal basin lying to the north, although a diverse range of manufacturing has developed on industrial estates around Arras. Food-related industries are important; other manufactures include textiles and machinery. Industrialization and the expansion of the road transport and logistics sector have been favoured by the town’s location close to major highways. Pop. (1999) 40,590; (2014 est.) 40,970.
This article was most recently revised and updated by Michael Ray.