François Rochon: The HLM model: social housing in contemporary housing policy in France

Thesis supervisors

: Jean-Pierre Levy (CNRS-Latts) and Yankel Fijalkow (CRH-Lavue)

The social composition of public housing is becoming increasingly impoverished, against a backdrop of political tension, particularly between the right to housing and social diversity. The growing influence of local authorities in housing policy does not diminish the debate at the national level. What is the contemporary purpose of social housing in France: to house the most disadvantaged or the greatest number of people? This question refers to the French social model and the republican pact. What is the French social housing model, and how does it fit into the country's social model? In concrete terms, what role does social housing play in contemporary housing policy, within what system and from what perspective? The aim of this research is to describe the HLM model in its French specificity, in particular through its national actors and in its relationship to contemporary housing policy. To this end, the first part provides an overview of housing policy, presenting a general view of housing policy based on social housing. The first chapter presents the essential components of the "formation of the model." The second chapter analyzes the "dynamics of the housing system," drawing in particular on some of the work carried out by the Research Network on the Socio-Economics of Housing during the 1990s and early 2000s. The third chapter questions the "political meaning" of contemporary housing policy, highlighting three complementary approaches at the national level and analyzing the European perspective. This section leads to a discussion of the role of national actors in the design of housing policy in France. It also offers an explanation for the absence of major systemic reform in recent decades. The second part therefore presents a survey on the representation of social housing, based on some 60 interviews with a sample of leading figures in the field of social housing: the Prime Minister, ministers, parliamentarians, senior civil servants, senior executives in the social housing sector, local elected officials, experts, and journalists. This survey seeks to understand how the field of housing and social housing is organized. To this end, the fourth chapter describes the "national social housing scene" based on a biographical analysis that identifies three main positions: politician, administrator, and practitioner. The fifth chapter focuses on the discourse of the actors and identifies 19 items describing the "justifications for the functions" of social housing. Finally, the sixth chapter studies the combination of these items in the "formalization of concepts," distinguishing five complementary concepts that only partially overlap with the positions of the actors. Finally, the general conclusion highlights the importance of items with inherently ambiguous meanings in representations, and the relatively limited knowledge of the housing system, thus contributing to documenting an overview of housing policy in France.

Thesis defense on Thursday, January 5, 2023

Composition of the jury

Keywords: Hlm, social housing, housing policy, French social model

Year of thesis registration: 2016

Doctoral school: City, Transport and Territories (VTT)