Seaport city (pop., 1999: 190,905), northern France.
It lies along the English Channel and the Seine River estuary, northwest of Paris . The second port of France after Marseille , it serves as a base for exports; it is also an important industrial centre. It was only a fishing village until 1517, when Francis I had a harbour built there. Enlarged and fortified in the 17th century under cardinal de Richelieu and Louis XIV , it was adapted to accommodate bigger vessels in the late 18th century. Most of the city was destroyed during World War II. Later rebuilt, the city's 17th-century church of Notre-Dame is one of the few surviving old buildings.