ABSTRACT
The quantitative analysis of migration has really developed in France only over the last 15 years. In the past, the lack of interest in the subject on the part of statisticians was a reflection of the relative lack of published information on both internal and international migrations. The main source was provided by the replies to census questions on place of birth and nationality. In addition, estimates of net migration were published, comparing the results of successive censuses with those from the civil register of demographic events. The absence of population registers in France inevitably impeded the tracing of individual population movements across the national territory. Finally, there were few accepted methods of analysis for these data.
