For almost a century, Longwy has been one of the most important industrial areas of France, contributing the majority of the national production of cast iron and steel. The objective of this paper is to analyse how higher education, then health and well-being were mobilised in the process of regeneration of Longwy, which had been very harshly affected by the industrial changes of the 1980s. It also questions, transversally, the positioning of Longwy with regard to its border situation. The article shows that the local left-wing authorities put forward higher education as a crucial element of regeneration and by contrast the right-wing mayor who succeeded this administration linked the concept to health benefits for the city.