Armentieres

ARMENTIERES. • town of northern France, in the department of Nord, on the Lys, i 3 m. W.N.W. of Lille on the Northern railway from that city to Dunkirk. Pop. (1006) 25,408. The rhicf building is the h6tel de ville with a i;th-tcntury belfry. There are communal colleges for girls and boys, a board of tradearbitrators, a chamber of commerce and a national technical school. The town is an important centre for the spinning and weaving of flax and cotton; bleaching, dyeing and the manufacture of machinery are among the other industries. Its industrial prosperity dates from the middle ages, when, however, woollen, not cotton, goods were the staple product.