Suburbs under influence: the economic attractiveness of the Paris agglomeration, accelerator of social change ?

The Paris agglomeration is strengthening its economic attractiveness and becoming more and more specialized in the high status jobs in the service sector. At the same time, the housing prices are increasing and housing supply remains insufficient. In consequence, it is very difficult to reside in this agglomeration, not only for low-income households, but also for middle class ones. This paper aims to analyse the social dynamics outside the agglomeration and to evaluate the links between the places where households live and the places where they work. To live in the urban fringes remains associated, in the French context, to a default choice, even if ongoing gentrification processes appear in the outskirts close to the agglomeration. Using data of French censuses from 1990, this paper shows the social specialization of these outskirts according to the distance to the Paris agglomeration. By observing the trends since 1990, it is clear that the social profile of the urban fringes has deeply changed and that a new socio-spatial divide is appearing. This must also be analysed in terms of socio-spatial inequalities by taking into account the increasing prices of energy and the unequal proximity of the employment centres.