Hauts-de-France
Hauts-de-France (French pronunciation: [o də fʁɑ̃s] ⓘ; lit. 'Heights of France', also Upper France,[3] Picard: Heuts d'Franche) is the northernmost region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its prefecture is Lille. The new region came into existence on 1 January 2016, after regional elections in December 2015.[4] The Conseil d'État approved Hauts-de-France as the name of the region on 28 September 2016, effective the following 30 September.[5][6]
With 6,009,976 inhabitants as of 1 January 2015 and a population density of 189 inhabitants per km2, it is the third most populous region in France and the second-most densely populated in metropolitan France after its southern neighbour Île-de-France. It is bordered by Belgium to the north. The region is a blend mixture of French and (southern-) Dutch cultures.