Urban decline in France: cities without policy

Today, 20% of French urban areas are experiencing population decline. While this process of urban degrowth is less prevalent in France than in other countries, its causes and consequences are similar. For example, population decline primarily concerns specific social groups and contributes to the pauperization of cities. However, in France, contrary to Germany or the United States, there are no national urban policies addressing this issue. This article discusses the causes and consequences of this lack of visibility of urban degrowth, first, by analysing the demographic decline of French municipalities, and second, by exploring two specific cases, St. Etienne and Roubaix. This article demonstrates that, in the absence of national regulation, intermunicipal competition reinforces the entrepreneurial and "mainstream" tendency of urban policies in shrinking cities.