A spatio-temporal approach to population diversity: Immigration and rural areas in France

Abstract

This article provides a spatio-temporal analysis of population diversity in French rural areas between 1975 and 2015 by considering the weight of the immigrant population and the variety of countries of birth of this population. It is based on a quantitative and longitudinal analysis of detailed data from the 1975, 1999, 2008 and 2015 population censuses. The originality of this article lies in a global approach to the different types of migration and the analysis of the trajectories of local territories over time. With this approach, the article shows that diversification trajectories have been dominant in the French countryside for the past forty years, but also that they have varied in pace and intensity according to the economic and demographic characteristics of the territories and their migration history. Taking into account these temporalities of social change is therefore essential to inform local public action on social integration.