Abstract EN:

According to some authors, there is a "critical" threshold of depopulation, under wich the exodus increases and no more social life is possible. Many studies, even when admitting such thresholds of depopulation, deny their existing, but there are just hypotheses which have never been confirmed. The purpose of this work consists in submitting these latter ones to the trial of local reality in 23 communes situated in the "departement" "Puy-de-Dôme", in order to state a critical threshold of depopulation and appreciate the operational character of it. For the determination of this threshold, one of its components was privileged, namely : the rentability's threshold of its services. From wich peopling level on do trading and public services disappear ? The first part is pointing out the fact that it is possible to state such a threshold, on the basis of demographical criteriums. The second part is showing the limits of such an investigation. The question about the operational character of these thresholds is still put on the rack : are the selatter ones in a position to guide the action of public powers ? They only are in a position to do it in condition there is a real will to curb the "devitalisation", hence the interest of analysing the coherence of the followed policies towards low density areas. They also are in a position to do it in condition, there is a local dynamic. That is the real meaning of a "self-development" policy.