Les bourgs ruraux face au vieillissement de la population : des stratégies d’attractivité résidentielle en décalage avec les dynamiques démographiques et migratoires ?

Abstract

For several decades, the numerous very small towns structuring the French countryside have been facing a significant ageing of their population alongside series of structural processes, which strained their historical role in rural areas. They therefore benefit from a national public policy in which the challenges of ageing population are part of the stated priorities. However, as observed in the academic literature, these policies lack of research about the factors explaining the ageing and its effects on very small towns dynamics.Our study of local public action in three very small towns (Vayrac (Lot); Tarascon-sur-Ariège (Ariège); Loué (Sarthe)) reveals a gap between public policies and current demographic dynamics. Indeed, local public policies focusing on the attraction of young households contrast with the migratory realities of these towns. Very small towns are mainly attractive to older people and relatively repulsive to younger age groups. Moreover, while some very small towns are facing socio-demographic weaknesses, the arrival of retired people sometimes maintain or even increase the number of inhabitants. This article invites us to question the current local attractiveness policies and to deconstruct some of the negative representations that surround the effects of an ageing population on territorial dynamics.

Keywords

• very small town
• small town
• ageing
• local public action
• residential mobility
• rural areas Ariège