Administration
The commune has grown substantially by absorbing several neighbouring communes:
- 1970: Merger with Malo-les-Bains (which had been created by being detached from Dunkirk 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 an associated commune, with a population of 372 in 1999)
- 1980: A large part of Petite-Synthe is detached from Dunkirk 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 19 December 2003, the municipal councils of Dunkirk and Saint-Pol-sur-Mer decided in favour of a fusion-association, which would create a new entity with a population of 94,187. The prefect requested a referendum, although this procedure was not mandatory (it became mandatory on 1 January 2005). The referendum took place on 5 December 2004, actually covering three 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 required by the law. The prefect rejected the fusion proposal as a consequence.
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