France Belgium

Dates de création de la frontière

Established in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht (Belgium created in 1830).

Territoires concernés

In France : Régions Hauts-de-France, Grand Est; Départements Nord, Aisne, Ardennes, Meuse, Pas-de-Calais, Meurthe-et-Moselle – in Belgium : Provinces Hainaut, Namur, Flandre-Occidentale, Luxembourg ; Régions wallonne, flamande.

Longueur de la frontière

620 km

Programmes européens

• Interreg France-Wallonie-Vlaanderen
Sur site de la DG REGIO

• Interreg Grande Région
Sur site de la DG REGIO

• Interreg 2 Mers

Afficher plus

Comines Warneton, à la frontière franco-belge. Copyright : MOT

News
Maps
MOT Publications

Policy and tools

Launch of the Interreg LIM-EX project: a new step towards removing barriers on the French-Belgian border

December 2025

Policy and tools

A look back at the first National Conference on Border Cooperation: France adopts a new governance structure to support the implementation of the European regulation BRIDGEforEU

December 2025

View all actualites

Transport, mobility

Projets de RER métropolitains aux frontières de la France

Update: 2025

Territorial cohesion

Espaces ruraux et naturels transfrontaliers aux frontières françaises

Update: 2025

View all maps

N°11 – The new challenges of cross-border mobility

December 2022

Be it for freight or for passengers, for occasional or daily travel, mobility is at the heart of cross-border life. This 11th MOT thematic Guide gives an overview of the experiences and policies conducted in the field of cross-border mobility in various European territories. It highlights a wide variety of projects, but also obstacles, issues and major challenges for the years to come.

Critical Dictionary on Borders, Cross-Border Cooperation and European Integration

October 2020

Peter Lang, by Birte Wassenberg (Volume editor) Bernard Reitel (Volume editor) History & Political Science, Series: Border Studies, Volume 1. The "Critical Dictionary of Borders, Cross-Border Cooperation and European Integration" has just been published: a major publication that contains 209 articles written by 124 authors from different countries and academic disciplines, accompanied by 66 original maps produced by the MOT. Its aim is to answer the following questions: what is the role of borders in European integration? How does cross-border cooperation function concretely in the EU’s border regions? Does it contribute to European integration? Who are the players, and what are their motives, objectives and tools?

View all publications

Summary

Introduction

A border melting pot since its creation in 1713, the Franco-Belgian divide has always been a place of passage and contact. Interspersed with towns close to one another as well as an extensive network of waterways, roads, and railways, its territories provide a favorable environment for cross-border cooperation.

The Brussels Agreement, signed in 2002 by the French, Belgian, and Luxembourgish governments, formalizes cooperation and gives it a legal framework. The two main cross-border urban areas, Dunkirk-West Flanders-Opal Coast and the Eurometropolis Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, both structured as EGTCs, are dynamic cross-border urban spaces that demonstrate advanced border cooperation.

Natural and rural areas also make up a significant part of the territories, and the cross-border cooperation linking them is, in some sectors, very advanced.