ABSTRACT
Among the many senior geographers of the third generation five represent distinct schools of thought, and have emerged directly from the foundations laid by Vidal de la Blache. These are Pierre Deffontaines, Roger Dion, Pierre George, Jean Gottman and Andre Cholley. Pierre Deffontaines contact with Jean Brunhes began in 1918, following an enthusiastic reading of the master's work on human geography. Pierre George studied at the Sorbonne from 1926 to 1930, taking his licence in history and geography on the arts side, and geology, mineralogy and botany on the science side. After initially specializing on the human geography of France and the Mediterranean countries, Jean Gottmann turned after the Second World War to the general theory of economic and political geography. Cholley submits some thoughts on current trends in geography in France. Regional geography must be re-established in its rights and missions to bring together the materials of a general geography of world-wide applicability.
