For years, rural areas have been overlooked in political and academic discussions. They are now the focus of a complex narrative, with both negative and positive elements. On the one hand, there’s the negative narrative of territorial inequalities highlighted by the Yellow Vest movement in France. On the other hand, there’s the positive narrative of marginal rural areas as a refuge during the pandemic. The “left behind places” concept allows to reframe our approach. Instead of focusing solely on the symptoms of shrinkage, left-behindness questions the rise of inequalities that have led to the marginalization of territories that were once integrated into national dynamics considering the political and social consequences of these developments._x000D_
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Where the State has withdrawn from several policy sectors, we examine the demographic, economic, and social decline by analyzing the mechanisms of marginalization and their effects on public policies and local action. To do so, we focus on La Grand Combe, a city that has lost two-thirds of its population since the closure of the coal mine, moving from an “urban” to a “rural” space. Since then, the central State has managed La Grand Combe minimally, providing only minimal and now fading services for those unable to leave the shrinking city._x000D_
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We first discuss the concept of left-behindness as a theoretical framework for analyzing rural population decline, and then conduct an in-depth study and the various aspects of population decline in rural areas. This helps characterize the effects of decline at the intersection of public policies and the everyday needs of the remaining inhabitants, including housing, healthcare, and social assistance. Finally, we question a French-style “left behind.” These territories are not entirely abandoned but not entirely preserved either. Instead, they emerge as places where new forms of political resentment take root and alternative solutions can be explored.

Maryame Amarouche, Nora Nafaa, Vincent Beal, Max Rousseau
Université Lyon 3 – UMR EVS-CRGA; Université de Strasbourg – UMR SAGE; CIRAD – UMR Art’Dev

 
ID Abstract: 521