Belgium–France border in the context of Treaties of Nijmegen

The Treaties or Peace of Nijmegen (French: Traités de Paix de Nimègue; German: Friede von Nimwegen; Dutch: Vrede van Nijmegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sweden, Denmark-Norway, the Prince-Bishopric of Münster, and the Holy Roman Empire. The most significant of the treaties was the first, which established peace between France and the Dutch Republic and placed the northern border of France very near its modern position.

The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Nord (English: North High-Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Nord, is a French 333-kilometre-long (207 mi) high-speed rail line, opened in 1993, that connects Paris to the Belgian border and the Channel Tunnel via Lille.

With a maximum speed of 300 kilometres per hour (190 mph), the line appreciably shortened rail journeys between Paris and Lille. Its extensions to the north (Belgium, the Channel Tunnel) and the south (via the LGV Interconnexion Est) have reduced journey times to Great Britain and Benelux and for inter-regional trips between the Nord (Pas de Calais) region and the southeast and southwest of France. Its route is twinned with the A1 for 130 kilometres (81 mi), which is why it was given its official nickname, the A1 Highway. As it is mostly built in flat areas, the maximum incline is 25 metres per kilometre (2.5‰).