In northern France, right in the heart of a mining region, Loos-en-Gohelle is a true oddity. If this small town of 7,000 inhabitants proudly shows the remains of its past and yet painful industry, it has also started a thorough green revolution to become a model of sustainable development.

The green mayor Jean-François Caron has been carrying this ambitious project for nearly 20 years, and is convinced that he is laying the foundations of a new model.