ABSTRACT
This chapter begins with an overview of the scope and the causes of deindustrialization for France as a whole, continues with an analysis of the regional dimensions of the phenomenon. It then examines what happened in three different regions, or groupings of regions: the Paris region, the Mediterranean and the Northeast. Deindustrialization has been particularly important in the more industrialized regions. In France, as elsewhere, tertiarization is the other side of the deindustrialization coin. In the entire post-war period, the role of governmental policies has been important in France. An important part of the economy was state-owned, and a large number of industrial enterprises was added to the list in 1982. A national economic plan, providing a common framework for day-to-day business and administrative decisions, has been prepared every five years, a result of a co-operative effort between the various parts of French society. Regional and spatial concerns were part of this policy environment.
