Loon-plage, a commune of about 6300 inhabitants, is located in the Nord department, on the Côte d'Opale between Calais and Dunkirk.
Emerged from the Flemish sea (current North Sea), sands drying and vases of fluvial origin, the village of LOON (which would mean for some "wooded place", for other "ducks") materializes at the end of the eleventh century. At the end of the twelfth century, Loon has a real existence, but two major plagues threaten every moment: the floods and the wars... It is only from 1756 that Loon recovers from these conflicts and periods of floods and then takes its final shape. Loon would have become French after the Peace of the Pyrenees (1659). The era is marked by the flight of Flemish to East Flanders and, simultaneously, by immigration of Calaisian origin, Boulogne and Picardy. Loon begins to become French so that we will end up speaking only French in Loon, except in the brouckes where the use of Flemish has persisted until very recently. In 1791, the population was estimated at about 1,000 individuals. It is agriculture that paces the lives of all Loonois through seasonal work. It harvests mainly cereals (wheat, barley, oats...). At the end of the 19th century, chicory, carrot and beet crops predominated and became the main agricultural activities. On the eve of the French Revolution, the grumbling of the Loonese peasants grew with the magistrate of Bourbourg (equivalent of a municipal council). The notebooks written, the Decree of December 14, 1789 allows Loon to become an independent municipality, able to choose its elected and manage its administration. In 1889, to avoid any confusion with Laon (02), the council decides the name change of the municipality which will be called then "Loon-Plage". A few months later, the idea of creating a seaside resort on the beach of Loon-Plage emerges. In 1894, a casino is built as well as a hotel and cottages: it is the Clipon beach, new fashionable vacation spot where you can observe the comings and goings of wealthy people.
In 1929, there are 16 chicory drier on the Loonois territory: the economy is essentially based on the cultivation of this root, and supplemented by the massive export of carrots, beets, turnips... From 1965, everything accelerates... Following the abandonment of the seaside resort of Clipon, the extension of the port of Dunkerque and the retrocession of a huge part of the beach open the chapter of industrialization Loonoise. The ambition to make Dunkirk a port of national interest leads to the creation of ever larger locks and pools. Expropriations are multiplying and industries are setting up on the coast... Loon-Plage becomes a city with a high industrial concentration. Correlatively, many farms disappear. In 1968 is created the Urban Community of Dunkirk (CUD). Loon-Plage becomes a member of the CUD to respond to the new problem of relocation of the expropriated loonois. The face of Loon-Plage continues its metamorphosis.
