ABSTRACT

This chapter presents an appraisal of post-war trends in France by one of its younger generation, Philippe Pinchemel, until recently Professor of Geography at the University of Lille, now professor at the Sorbonne. Pinchemel is particularly suited for such an appraisal, since his doctorate work was in geomorphology, but in recent years he has turned to questions of human geography. The first trait to be emphasized is the extraordinary fecundity of French geography. Twenty years ago the study of oceanography had sunk to a very low level, but in the post-war years, together with coastal morphology and hydrology, this field has experienced a remarkable development. There are three trends in the post-war work of geographers on Agrarian landscapes. One may concentrate on a past period, as Dion did, on the Middle Ages, or Champier on pre-history. Others may concentrate on the technics of cultivation and peasant mentality.