Roubaix has had to accept two economic blows: firstly, the decline of the textile industry and the associated mechanical engineering for looms, and secondly, the end of coal mining. As in other regions of Western Europe, beginning in the Ruhr area, continuing through the Saarland and Luxembourg, and extending into Belgium and France, a transformation of the economic foundations is taking place. Unfortunately, some of it is short-lived, while other changes are here to stay. This also includes many faculties at the universities in Roubaix and Lille, some of which are also linked to the old textile know-how.
