Neo-Municipalism: A Political Alternative for French Rural Declining Areas?

In 2014, the municipality of Saillans caught the attention of researchers with the election of a citizens' list, a radical innovation for France at that time. This small municipality of 1,200 residents became a focal point for discussions on the renewal of neo-rurality and the potential for neo-municipalism. While the case of Saillans is somewhat unique—being located in a region known for proactive environmental transition policies (the Bio-Vallée)—its small size is a common characteristic shared by tens of thousands French villages (out of a current total of 35,000 municipalities). Beyond Saillans' specific appeal, this communication will explore to what extent such political innovations can be transferred to declining rural peripheries, and how far the small size of French municipalities, for long considered a problem, may become an asset.

The presentation will highlight emerging political alternatives in rural areas that, despite facing decline, are also resourceful: local development policies, new social organizations, and political initiatives such as municipalism. This presentation draws on the findings of two research programs, one focused on post-COVID ‘rural exodus’ and the other on ‘left-behind places’. Through interviews with residents and elected officials, it examines formerly industrialized villages and rural areas, such as Saint-Julien-Molin-Molette and La Salle with their silk mills, as well as La Grand Combe and its mining activities.

This communication will begin by integrating literature from rural geography on neo-rurality with urban studies on political alternatives in shrinking towns, creating a theoretical framework to better understand the renewal of shrinking rural municipalities. The second section compares different cases: from the artistic revival in La Salle, to neo-municipalism in SJMM, and the challenging renewal process in La Grand Combe. Finally, the last section will leverage these political innovations to reconsider the concept of the right to the city from an external, rural perspective.