La présidentielle 2007 dans les Zones Urbaines Sensibles de la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur

According to our preceding studies of vote in French urban deprived areas (areas designated by the acronym ZUS for Zones Urbaines Sensibles), the electoral behaviour of people living in these areas exhibits two main distinctive features. Firstly, ZUS voters have a stronger propensity to abstain than the other voters. Secondly, their choices express a more marked preference for the left and less support to the right. The present paper focuses on 2007 presidential election in ZUS located in PACA region (Provence - Alpes - Côte d'Azur). It reasserts the two singularities of ZUS vote and shows that they are observed whatever the scale of comparison (national, regional or municipal). The advantage given to the left in PACA's ZUS is however particularly important at the regional level, since PACA region strongly voted for the right at the last presidential election. But, concerning the vote for the extreme right, ZUS voters are quite representative of PACA voters. The two major features of electoral behavior in ZUS are also found in the comparison with the rest of the municipalities where ZUS are located. However, the divergences between PACA's ZUS and the rest of their municipalities strongly vary from one ZUS to another, especially among ZUS belonging to the same municipality. It leads us to think that the particular characteristics of urban deprived areas impact the electoral choices of their inhabitants. This result then provides an illustration of the influence of the context in which people make their decisions on their political choices and underlines the relevance of the ecological analysis of voting behaviour.