Editing Cambrai (section)

{{Other uses}}
{{Distinguish|Cambria|Combray}}
{{refimprove|date=February 2024}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name               = Cambrai
|native name        = {{native name|vls|Kamerijk}}<br />{{native name|pcd|Kimbré}}
|commune status     = [[Subprefectures in France|Subprefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image              = Campanile hôtel de ville Cambrai.JPG
|image flag         = Drapeau Cambrai.svg
|caption            = The bell tower of the town hall, where {{Interlanguage link multi|Martin and Martine|fr|3=Martin et Martine}} mark the hours
|image coat of arms = Blason cambrai.svg
|arrondissement     = Cambrai
|canton             = Cambrai
|INSEE              = 59122
|postal code        = 59400
|demonym            = Cambrésiens
|mayor              = Vacant<ref>{{cite web|title=Le maire de Cambrai, François-Xavier Villain, est mort à 74 ans|url=https://www.francebleu.fr/infos/politique/le-maire-de-cambrai-francois-xavier-villain-est-mort-a-74-ans-9097730|publisher=France Bleu|date=27 April 2024|language=fr}}</ref>
|term               = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality   = [[Communauté d'agglomération de Cambrai|CA de Cambrai]]
|coordinates        = {{coord|50.1767|3.2356|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m        = 60
|elevation min m    = 41
|elevation max m    = 101
|area km2           = 18.12
|population         = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date    = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
}}

'''Cambrai''' ({{IPAc-en|US|k|æ|m|ˈ|b|r|eɪ|,_|k|ɑ̃|ˈ|-}},<ref>{{Cite American Heritage Dictionary|Cambrai|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref><ref name="MW">{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Cambrai|access-date=10 August 2019}}</ref> {{IPA|fr|kɑ̃bʁɛ|lang|Fr-Paris--Cambrai.ogg}}; {{langx|pcd|Kimbré}}; {{langx|nl|Kamerijk}}), formerly '''Cambray'''<ref name="MW"/> and historically in English '''Camerick''' or '''Camericke''', is a city in the [[Nord (French department)|Nord]] [[Departments of France|department]] and in the [[Hauts-de-France]] [[Regions of France|region]] of [[France]] on the [[Scheldt]] river, which is known locally as the Escaut river.

A [[Subprefectures in France|sub-prefecture]] of the department, Cambrai is a town which had 32,501 inhabitants in 2018. It is in the heart of the [[urban unit]] of Cambrai with 46,772 inhabitants. Its [[functional area (France)|functional area]], a more extensive range, included 94,576 inhabitants in 2018.<ref name=compar>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/1405599?geo=AAV2020-108+UU2020-59403+COM-59122 Comparateur de territoire: Aire d'attraction des villes 2020 de Cambrai (108), Unité urbaine 2020 de Cambrai (59403), Commune de Cambrai (59122)], INSEE</ref> With [[Lille]] and the towns of the former [[Nord-Pas de Calais Mining Basin]], it is also part of the {{Interlanguage link multi|Metropolitan area of Lille|fr|3=Aire métropolitaine de Lille}} which has more than 3.8 million inhabitants.

Towards the end of the [[Roman Empire]], Cambrai replaced [[Bavay]] as the "capital" of the land of the [[Nervii]]. At the beginning of the [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingian]] era, Cambrai became the seat of an immense [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cambrai|archdiocese]] covering all the right bank of the [[Scheldt]] and the centre of a small [[ecclesiastical principality]], roughly coinciding with the shire of [[Duchy of Brabant|Brabant]], including the central part of the [[Low Countries]]. The bishopric had some limited secular power and depended on the [[Holy Roman Empire]] until annexation to France in 1678. [[François Fénelon|Fénelon]], nicknamed the "Swan of Cambrai", was the most renowned of the archbishops.

The fertile lands which surround it and the textile industry gave it prosperity in the [[Middle Ages]], but in modern times it is less industrialised than its neighbours of [[Nord-Pas-de-Calais]].

Cambrai was the [[Duke of Wellington]]'s headquarters, for the British Army of Occupation, from 1815 to 1818. Occupied by the German army during [[World War I]], Cambrai suffered partial destruction in the First Battle of Cambrai from British artillery attacks on the town, including the nearby [[Bourlon]] Wood.  The fighting around Cambrai, known as the [[Battle of Cambrai (1917)|Battle of Cambrai]] (20 November 1917 – 3 December 1917) is notable in that it is considered to be the first mass use of [[tank]]s in battle.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.historycentral.com/ww1/BattleofCambrai.html|title=First Battle of Cambrai}}</ref>  A second [[Battle of Cambrai (1918)|Battle of Cambrai]] took place between 8 and 10 October 1918 as part of the [[Hundred Days Offensive]]. [[World War II]] was followed by reconstructions and a rapidly developing economy and population, abruptly reversed by the [[1973 oil crisis]].

Cambrai today is a lively city and, despite the past destruction, maintains a rich monumental heritage. Cambrai is affirmed as the urban centre of [[Cambrésis]]. Its economic life is strengthened by its position on the main local highway and river.