Inland waterways: direct link to major sea and inland ports.

• There are 680 km of canals and navigable rivers in Northern France - a full 10% of the French total - including 576 km used for commercial navigation.
• The new Seine-Nord canal linking Paris with Northern France - scheduled to open in 2012 - will round out existing inland waterways.
• This waterway network, linked directly to that of Northern Europe via wide-gauge canals, is underpinned by one of the densest networks of inland ports in France, including Dunkirk, Lille, Valenciennes, Béthune, Arques and Auby.
• France’s no. 3 inland port after Paris and Strasbourg, Lille is a hub for transport by road, canal and rail. River and canal traffic has more than doubled in the past three years and the future looks bright with the new Seine-Nord link slated to open in 2012. In 2006 the port of Lille handled 8,83 million tons of traffic, its highest ever.