In 1961, French number theorists gathered during a weekend in Grenoble, where six lectures on the subject were delivered. This proved a success and subsequent Journées Arithmétiques, as these now five-day -conferences became generally known, were held in Lille (19635, Besançon (1965), Grenoble (1967), Bordeaux (1969), Marseille Saint-Jérôme (1971), Grenoble (1973), Bordeaux (1974), Caen (19765 and Marseille-Luminy (1978). In return for the hospitality of the French to their colleagues from abroad, the 1980 conference was organized by the London Mathematical Society in Exeter, U.K. and after the conference in Metz (1981) the Netherlands became the host country for the 13th Journées Arithmétiques.