Suburbia as a polling booth? Social and electoral geography of the French suburban areas (1968-2008). Through the examples of three medium-sized metropolitan areas (Caen, Metz and Perpignan). ; Le pavillon et l'isoloir. Géographie sociale et électorale des espaces périurbains français (1968-2008). À travers les cas de trois aires urbaines moyennes (Caen, Metz et Perpignan)

Abstract

According to the main trend, living in suburban areas seems to be more and more considered as an anti-aesthetic, anti-environmental and anti-social act. Since electoral changes in the nineties, voting paterns of suburban areas inhabitants have led to a growing stigmatisation of these areas which are sometimes seen as bastions of protest and extremism. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the relationships between the suburbanization process, the social changes and voting paterns involved in French urban areas since the late sixties. To achieve that, the thesis offers several points of view through different scales and different kinds of the empirical materials. Social and electoral data analysed on a national scale precede the study of the three medium-sized metropolitan areas of Caen, Metz and Perpignan. Within the areas at stake here, several suburban districts chosen for their exemplary nature were investigated using "right at the polling booth" opinion polls collected during the 2007 presidential election. Two districts were eventually analyzed in a qualitative way (interview, observation) during the 2008 municipal election campaigns. The cumulative benefits derived from these methods highlight the fact that in a suburban context as anywhere else, the social status and trajectories of residents have a sizable impact on their political opinions and their electoral choices. ; Dans les discours dominants, habiter dans les espaces périurbains semble de plus en plus assimilé à un acte à la fois anti-esthétique, anti-écologique et anti-social. Avec les évolutions électorales des années 1990, s'est progressivement développée une tendance à la stigmatisation des mondes périurbains en raison des pratiques électorales supposées illégitimes de leurs habitants. Il apparaît donc nécessaire d'explorer les rapports entre le processus de périurbanisation, les changements sociaux qu'il entraîne aux lieux d'arrivée et les comportements électoraux que ces mutations participent à produire au sein des aires urbaines françaises ...