Les conflits d’usage dans les espaces ruraux et périurbains. Le cas des infrastructures franciliennes

The article offers an empirically-founded analysis of conflicts on public utility infrastructures in the region surrounding Paris It sheds some light on public decision-making process and on the role conflicts play in the process of land availability in the Paris region. Empirical evidence based on courts records show that conflicts on infrastructures occur mainly in peri-urban spaces, in relatively small wealthy towns. Being proof of the local inhabitant’s non satisfaction, the conflicts could be seen as an echo of the struggle between need of urbanization and need of land preservation. The article also spots on the complexity and the ambiguity of the public decision-making process in France. It highlights the imperfections of the decision mechanism, which explain the presence of conflicts.