Comment l’État pense-t-il les vacances ?

Abstract

Based on a good use of free time and the promotion of the social tourism, the State’s public policies favouring leisure enable their access to all the citizens in order to encourage their social, educational and cultural interests. However, the general review of the public policies points a major fracture as regards the promotion of the State’s public action in the leisure sector. Applying the frame of reference coming from the cognitive studies concerning the public policies, this article presents the integration of the public policies for leisure activities, so far used for social transformation in the sector of social compensation. Henceforth, the State enforces the equity principle instead of the equality one in order to face the inequalities as regards the leisure activities, which have become a real indicator of social success. In this context, the question is to know whether the leisure activities, which were the prerogative of the elite, do not keep up with their original function of spatial and social distinction.

Keywords

• promotion of the social tourism
• the public policies for leisure activities
• free time