Fonctionnaires et mobilité géographique au XIX e siècle. L'exemple des percepteurs des contributions directes

This article investigates the professional migrations of 162 tax collectors who worked in the département of Ille-et-Vilaine between 1825 and 1914. The reconstruction of these migrations shows that the civil servants? mobility has increased remarkably during the xixth century. This evolution can be explained by the processes of both professionalization and democratization of the Public revenue department: on the one hand, professionalisation reinforces the administrative constraints which weigh on the tax collector, and on the other hand, democratization increases his involvement in his career. In details, yet ? due to the duality of their recruitments which splits the profession between those who were previously supernumeries and those who were previously « exceptional » candidates ? the geographical mobility of these accountants appears to be more varied. Though the results of this case study can only be partially extended, on a methodological aspect, this article contributes to show that, in order to be well understood, the geographical mobility of civil servants must always be considered in relation with social and professional mobility.