Nord Pas de Calais prepares to lead French auto industry

The gently undulating countryside of northern France is largely overlooked by most visitors to the country as they hurtle towards Paris on the Eurostar, or take the A26 and A1 autoroutes at the start of a journey to the ski slopes or beaches further south.

Yet for the French automotive industry, this rather featureless region, which appears not to have changed in decades, is second in importance only to the area around Paris.