Industrial Arteries

In the 19th century, canals became the arteries of industrialization. The Canal de Saint-Quentin carried coal from northern mines to Paris factories. The Rhine-Rhône canal moved Alsatian textiles to Mediterranean ports. Every major industrial center needed canal access to thrive.

These industrial canals attracted workers from across Europe and beyond. Mining companies recruited heavily from Poland and Italy. Textile mills brought workers from the Ottoman Empire. The canal banks sprouted worker housing, creating multicultural neighborhoods that persist today.

In Roubaix, the canal quarter remains home to descendants of Belgian, Polish, and Algerian canal workers. "The canal made us who we are," explains community organizer Fatima Benali. "Our grandfathers loaded textiles onto barges. Our grandmothers washed clothes in canal water. Now we fight to keep canal-side housing affordable, to preserve this working-class heritage."