A research report on social vulnerabilities at the local level: a focus on border dynamics

Border regions characterised by a ‘commuter’ development model (such as the Lorraine corridor or the French Genevois region) appear to be the most socially resilient: a low proportion of people without qualifications, generally satisfactory housing conditions, adequate access to services and moderate levels of precariousness. This model, based on income generated externally, is currently helping to stabilise local social conditions, although its residential and redistributive specialisation risks increasing their structural vulnerability in the face of the challenges of economic recovery. At the same time, the analyses also highlight certain vulnerabilities, notably high levels of precariousness in certain tourist areas (the Alps) and along the Belgian border, marked socio-spatial inequalities in several border areas (particularly towards Luxembourg and the French Genevois region), as well as greater vulnerabilities in certain dynamic border cities. Despite these significant contrasts, the study concludes that cross-border regions remain, on the whole, socially stable.