Process for the manufacture of 1,2-dichloroethane (DCE) starting from a stream of ethane which is subjected to a catalytic oxydehydrogenation (ODH) producing a gas mixture containing ethylene then dried and subjected to an absorption to be separated into a fraction enriched with the compounds that are lighter than ethylene containing some of the ethylene conveyed to a chlorination reactor R1 in which most of the ethylene is converted into DCE, and into a fraction F1 which is subjected to a desorption D1 to be separated into an ethylene fraction depleted of the compounds that are lighter than ethylene conveyed to a chlorination reactor R2, the stream of products derived from this reactor being added to the dry gas mixture, and into a fraction F2. Fraction F2 is then subjected to a desorption D2 to be separated into a fraction enriched with ethylene conveyed to an oxychlorination reactor in which most of the ethylene is converted into DCE, and into a fraction F3 which is recycled to the absorption.