Closures of post offices, tax offices, maternity wards, emergency departments, courts, police stations, classrooms, small train lines... The result is the weakening of some territories, particularly those already facing socio-economic difficulties, with their residents forced to travel miles to access services they are entitled to. In addition, the restructuring of public services, which has been going on for over 20 years, fuels the vote for the Rassemblement National (RN, far right), which opportunely exploits the resulting feeling of abandonment and downgrading.
Political scientist Jérôme Fourquet sees this as "fuel for the RN in small towns and villages." In his book La France d'après ("The France of after," 2023), he shows the correlation between the rise of the RN vote between 2002 and 2022 and the closure of a whole series of public services (reform of the judicial map, restructuring of maternity wards, reorganization of treasuries...), in prefectures, sub-prefectures and former county towns. These disappearances are "experienced painfully by residents and elected representatives," who, he reminded us, see in them a "demotion" of their town's rank. "This feeds the feeling of being considered second-class citizens."
A study on the mobility of rural young people published in May by the Terram Institute, a think-tank dedicated to the study of territories, and the Chemins d'avenirs association, which fights against inequality of opportunity for rural young people, shows that the impediments to mobility, due to a lack of public transport, and the geographical isolation felt by many rural young people contribute to fueling the vote in favor of the RN – socio-economic criteria reinforce this trend.
Co-author of La Valeur du service public ("The Value of Public Service," 2021), historian Claire Lemercier says that "the symbolic significance of these French-style public services in the collective imagination. Post offices and train lines are the embodyment of urban planning and service, right down to the canton level, as the 'Republic' intended at the end of the 19th century, with buildings that lend majesty to what belongs to everyone." They were a source of pride.
Their closure is seen as a downgrading and, at the same time, as the disengagement of public authorities. "Seeing these buildings deteriorate is not without effect either," recalled the historian, highlighting two other side effects. "The domino effect:" the closure of public services leading to the closure of shops, the absence of doctors, etc. "The closure of a [public service] also means the disappearance of a place where people wait [in line together] and mix socially."
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