With four coal mines, it was the headquarters of the Bruay Mining Company.
The coal mines closed during the 1960s, to be replaced by light industrial work and chemical factories.
In April 1972 the murder of miner's daughter Brigitte Dewevre became a politicized event when Pierre Leroy, a local middle-class lawyer associated with the local mining company, was arrested: La Cause du Peuple, the paper of the Maoist Gauche prolétarienne, publicized the case with the headline 'Bruay: And Now They Are Massacring Our Children!'

The two places of Bruay-en-Artois and La Buissiere were joined as one commune in 1987.
With four coal mines, it was the headquarters of the Bruay Mining Company. The coal mines closed during the 1960s, to be replaced by light industrial work and chemical factories. In April 1972 the murder of miner's daughter Brigitte Dewevre became a politicized event when Pierre Leroy, a local middle-class lawyer associated with the local mining company, was arrested: La Cause du Peuple, the paper of the Maoist Gauche prolétarienne, publicized the case with the headline 'Bruay: And Now They Are Massacring Our Children!'
The two places of Bruay-en-Artois and La Buissiere were joined as one commune in 1987.
Bruay-la-Buissière