THE REVIVAL OF FRANCES PORT CITIES

Port cities the world over have been subjected to huge and rapid trans formations by events in the international arena, and France is no exce ption, This situation has triggered a readjustment of the balance of p ower within French port cities, the pace and scope of which is insuffi cient compared to the scale of the exogenous changes, This imbalance i s probably the most striking aspect of the process of adaptation to ch anging conditions visible in France's port cities today. We will begin by analysing the challenges, at the end of the Fordist era, to the Fr ench government's strategic choices, i.e., the development of the nati on's ports with a domestic and industrial bias, This period was then f ollowed by a policy of European integration, with a fundamentally cont inental emphasis. We will go on to outline the beginnings of a renaiss ance of France's port cities due firstly to the initiatives of the loc al authorities, and the renewed interest they have shown in their port s and their economic potential, and secondly to the new relationship f orged between the State and private sectors in the domain of port acti vity.