Ports and the Selective Geography of Reindustrialisation: Decarbonisation and Industrial Concentration in French Port-Industrial Complex

This article analyses how decarbonisation imperatives are reshaping the contemporary geography of reindustrialisation in France by concentrating investment in major port-industrial complexes. Drawing on an original database of territorially anchored industrial investment announcements between 2008 and 2025, supplemented by an analysis of multi-level public strategies and interviews with industrial, port and logistics stakeholders, it shows that recent reindustrialisation does not take the form of a diffuse return of industry, but rather of a selective recomposition of carbon-intensive production systems. The article highlights a marked acceleration of investment in port-industrial zones since 2022, particularly in Dunkirk, along the Seine axis, and in Marseille-Fos, centred on transition-related sectors. This concentration is explained both by the weight of fossil legacies and by the superposition of decarbonisation policies deployed at the European, national and territorial levels. Ports thus emerge as strategic spaces in decarbonisation-driven reindustrialisation. In conclusion, the article opens onto the logistical implications of these transformations, marked by a diversification of flows, new infrastructural constraints, and a reconfiguration of port functions.