Coordinates: 50°41′17″N 2°52′52″E / 50.6881°N 2.8811°E / 50.6881; 2.8811

Armentières (IPA: [aʁmɑ̃tjɛːʁ]) is a commune in the Nord department in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region in northern France. It is part of the Urban Community of Lille Métropole, and lies on the Belgian border, northwest of the city of Lille, on the right bank of the river Lys.

The motto of the town is Pauvre mais fière (Poor but proud).

In 1668, the town became French like the rest of French Flanders. At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, Armentières acquired fame, being the “City of the Fabric”. The industrial weaving, spinning and brewing grew in Armentières, benefitting from the presence of water.

Armentières particularly suffered at the time of the World Wars. However, the town did receive two Military Crosses (one for World War I and the second for the Second World War) and the Legion of Honor. In Armentières and in the neighbourhoods, the military cemeteries are places of remembrance for the casualties of the World Wars. Mademoiselle from Armentières was a popular song amongst Allied soldiers in World War I.

Line Renaud (born July 2, 1928) is a popular French singer, actress and AIDS activist.

Line Renaud was born in Pont-de-Nieppe on 2 July 1928. Her mother Simone was a shorthand typist; her father was a truck driver during the week, but he played the trumpet on weekends, in a local brass band. Line showed the first signs of her talent in primary school, when at the age of 7 she won an amateur competition.

During the Second World War, Jacqueline's father was mobilised, spending five years away from the family. During this time, Jacqueline was brought up by her mother, grandmother and great-grandmother. Her grandmother had a café in Armentières, where she used to sing for passing soldiers.

She auditioned at Conservatoire de Lille, singing songs written by Loulou Gasté "Sainte-Madeleine" and "Mon âme au diable". Louis Gasté was at that time a well known French composer. At the end of the audition, she was approached by the director of Radio Lille who was looking for a singer. She took the pseudonym of Jacqueline Ray and joined the station singing a repertoire based on the songs by Loulou Gasté. In 1945, she moved to Paris and got her first gig in Folies Belleville, where she was introduced to Gasté. She was 16, Gasté was 37. He became her mentor, changing her image and her name.

Emmanuel Moire is a French singer. He and his twin brother Nicolas were born in Le Mans on 16 June 1979. Emmanuel is an eclectic artist. He sings and plays the piano, with a hundred tunes to his credit.

At 21 years of age, Emmanuel was selected to take part in the 16th meeting of Astaffort, a training course for song writers and performers. Between 2004 and 2007, he portrayed Louis XIV in the successful musical Le Roi Soleil, whose cast included Christophe Maé and Merwan Rim.

Emmanuel Moire released his first solo album, titled Là Où Je Pars, on 13 November 2006. The first single was "Le Sourire". With British pop influences, the first album paid special attention to the melodies even more than the emotions. The piano, vocals and beautiful guitar segments led the listener to a place where love, sufferings and the small joys of the life all mixed. On his Facebook site, Emmanuel said his first album was, “about the universal topics which I wanted to treat in a personal way. The role of an artist, it is to invite people into his universe, to give all that he has in him so that each one finds his own story there.” “This album is the fruit of a lot of collaboration. I wanted it to represent me so that people could discover me, musically, there. ” “It is easy to see that this album is a reunion of those close to me at Astaffort. Those, who for several years, share in the same hopes and dreams: Claire Joseph, Yann Guillon, Benoît Poher, Davide Esposito, Christophe Beucher... “