Bully-les-Mines (French pronunciation: [byli le min]) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais département in northern France.

Ricouart proposes that "Bullire" derives from the French "bouillonner," a reference to the source of the river Surgeon in a neighboring commune.

The oldest relic so far discovered in the commune is a Celtic bracelet; Bully once belonged to the "Pagus Silvinus" region of the Atrébates.

As an integral part of Artois, Bully fell under the domination of the Counts of Flanders from 862 to 1191 before passing with the rest of the region to French control.

Governed directly by the French Crown from 1191 to 1237, the town and region remained part of France until 1384, when they submitted to the rule of Burgundy.

Bully's close proximity to three military strongholds - Arras, Béthune, and Lens - often situated it in the path of war.

From 1709 to 1712, Bully was buffeted by the advances and retreats of armies fighting in the War of the Spanish Succession, a situation aggravated by an epidemic that killed 24 villagers.

[5] The Étoile Sportive de Bully was founded in 1920 by the Company with a sports complex considered the most modern in France.

There were five football pitches, one with stands for several hundred spectators, dressing rooms with showers, individual lockers for players.

[5] Michel Vancaille, former vice-president of the Conseil Général of the Pas-de-Calais, served as mayor of Bully-les-Mines from 1989 to 2002, when he was replaced by fellow Socialist François Lemaire.