L'industrialisation rurale au service du développement local en Europe Occidentale

In Western Europe rural regions have been neglected by growth. Some of them have their own industrial structure which is often of long-standing. For the others industrialization has seemed for some years to be a means of development and balance. The present implantation of firms in rural areas concerns areas close to sources of energy and raw materials, near big towns and big industrial centres or in rich but little builtup rural areas, or else in the depths of the country. The nature of the relationship between the collectivity and the firm must be revised. The sporadic initiatives taken by the « communes » give way to national initiatives and other intercommunal experiments. In underprivileged areas technical assistance (by the collectivity or by the State) is necessary. The most rural areas practically never manage to unite all these elements. Rural industrialization can contribute to planning and development if the responsibility of the collectivities is real, if the inhabitants are consulted and feel committed to the projects that concern them.