[Recent trends of population development in the French urban system]

"The paper analyses the population development of French urban agglomerations of more than 50,000 inhabitants over the last three decades (1962-90). Trends of net migration, natural increase and total population change are examined with respect to different functional and structural city types. The results show changes of long established growth patterns: an overall decrease of urban growth rates in the seventies and the resurgence of the growth of the largest metropolitan areas in the eighties." (SUMMARY IN ENG)