Dunkirk

:For other uses of Dunkirk or Dunkerque, see Dunkirk (disambiguation).

Administration

The commune has grown substantially by absorbing several neighboring communes:

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• 1970: fusion with Malo-les-Bains (which had been created by being detached from Dunkerque in 1881)
• 1972: fusion with Petite-Synthe and Rosendaël (the latter had been created by being detached from Téteghem in 1856)
• 1980: fusion-association with Mardyck (which became a commune associée, with a population of 372 in 1999)
• 1980: a large part of Petite-Synthe is detached from Dunkerque and included into Grande-Synthe
• 2003: project of fusion with Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (commune created by its territory being detached from Petite-Synthe in 1877). On December 19, 2003, the municipal councils of Dunkerque and Saint-Pol-sur-Mer decided in favor of a fusion-association, which would create a new entity with a population of 94,187. The préfet requested a popular referendum, although this procedure was not mandatory (it became mandatory on January 1, 2005). The referendum took place on December 5, 2004, actually covering 3 communes: Dunkerque, Saint-Pol-sur-Mer and Fort-Mardyck. Although the yes won with 54 % of the votes, it did not gather 25% of the potential electorate, as requested by the law. The préfet rejected the fusion proposal as a consequence.