1In a January 2016 memo to regional and departmental prefects, the Minister of the Interior detailed the principles and procedures for the ‘Regional reception programmes for asylum seekers’ (Schéma régional d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile et réfugiés, SRADAR). These were put into place by the French State with the intention of ‘ensuring a better territorial distribution of the accommodation offer dedicated to asylum seekers’. At the same time, in successive operations to dismantle the Calais ‘jungle’ in 2015 and 2016, dozens of buses were hired to transport those who had accepted the State’s offer to stay in one of the many Reception and Orientation Centres (Centres d’accueil et d’orientation - CAO) hastily opened across the country. People were thus moved from the north of France to remote locations outside the major cities. The contours of a decentralised asylum geography were thus reinforced, including in areas that had previously remained marginal in the reception of exiles (Gourdeau, 2018).

2This policy of dispersing accommodation facilities, and consequently the exiles, is neither new nor unique to France. The institutionalisation of the reception initiative in the mid-1970s was based, from the outset, on a dual principle of centralising and dispersing accommodation centres across the country, guided by two criteria: foreign population density and the economic situation of the area concerned (Masse, 2001). From the outset, rural communes were thus included in the reception of refugees, particularly those from Indochina (Simon-Barouh, 1989). Developments of the initiative over the following decades retained this principle, with national distribution being coupled in the 2000s with a redistribution at the departmental and then regional level (Bonerandi, 2008).

3In doing so, France adopted an approach already in use in other countries, such as in Germany in the aftermath of the Second World War to welcome members of German minorities from Central and Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and again in 1974 for the reception of asylum seekers (Boswell, 2003). This tactic then spread across the European continent (Robinson et al., 2003). During the same period, Great Britain developed a mechanism for the voluntary distribution of a proportion of asylum seekers; the latter was made compulsory and extended to all asylum seekers in 1999 (Dwyer and Brown, 2008). Although established in very different contexts, these national measures converged around a leitmotiv, that of ‘burden sharing’, or the distribution of the financial, social and symbolic ‘costs’ of receiving asylum seekers and refugees within a given national territory. Such concerns similarly emerged at the European level in the early 1990s over how to distribute asylum seekers between Member States (Boswell, 2003). Since the mid-2010s, the so-called ‘relocation’ mechanism has rekindled this discussion and highlighted the neoliberal character of the transformations underway in reception management: delegation of asylum administration, increasing private sector calls for tender, cost pressures in assisting requestors, etc. (Novak, 2019; Aquilina and Bugnot, 2017).

4Based on qualitative investigations conducted over a large area of southwest France and the analysis of quantitative databases, this article examines the distribution of exiles in rural areas. It seeks to understand the impact of a policy of territorial distribution on the care of exiles and citizen engagement in rural communes. This effort forms part of the larger CAMIGRI programme that, since 2016, has studied change in the French countryside within the dynamics of international migration. The programme aims to document and understand the diversity of exile reception modalities within rural territories. What role do rural areas play in the national reception system for this population? How are asylum seekers and refugees received and settled in the countryside? Who are the actors involved and how does institutional assistance articulate with the actions of an increasing number of volunteer groups?

Methodological Box 1: Which statistical sources for the geographical study of exiles in France?

The National Reception System (Dispositif National d’Accueil - DNA) for exiles: a policy of territorial dispersion

Mobilising all the departmental and regional territories

8The rise in the annual number of asylum applications and the considerable lengthening of the time needed to process claims increased the duration of stays in the centres. Meanwhile, the share of exiles who could not be accommodated grew steadily over the years. From the 1990s on, the development of the system has therefore always been closely intertwined with outside accommodation and the time needed for the administrative procedures.

13The two regions studied here adapted these broad guidelines somewhat differently. Occitanie, created in 2016 by the union of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées, sought to harmonise accommodation capacities between the departments of the former regions. Meanwhile, in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the goals have been more demographically based, with a marked orientation towards the less densely populated departments of the region. The ‘Regional reception programmes for asylum seekers’ (Schéma régional d’accueil des demandeurs d’asile et réfugiés - SRADAR) also call for consideration to be given to service provision. Thus, in Occitanie, the proximity of health establishments and airports is a criterion for the development of the initiative.

14In the context of rushed accommodation openings, the availability of housing, notably that owned by the State, has been a determining factor. A functional approach to space thus emerges, where the evaluation of resources favouring the socio-economic and social inclusion of these accommodation structures seems to be of secondary importance.

A recent roll-out of the DNA in sparsely populated, rural and peri-urban areas

15The French government’s policy of deployment of accommodation for exiles since the 1990s remains somewhat difficult to understand in concrete terms (see Methodological Box 1). The use of data on the location of the various facilities at the commune level and their accommodation capacity in 1999, 2017 and 2019 nevertheless allows us to assess the most recent dynamics and compare them with the state of the system in the late 1990s (Map 2).

16There are notable regional differences in the distribution of the DNA facilities. In 1999, the system was mainly deployed in the south-west of France and in the north-eastern half of the country. Rural and peri-urban areas were essential to its diffusion. Two thirds of the living areas with accommodation infrastructure were of intermediate or low density, located particularly in the aforementioned areas. Although the large cities have greater accommodation capacity, the dispersion of the facilities beyond the major metropoles has been evident since the late 1990s. Moreover, the deployment of the system has been based on two logics: increasing reception capacities in already equipped territories and creating structures in new areas. Thus, between 1999 and 2017, the share of densely populated living areas with at least one facility doubled up to 96%, while the share of intermediate density or (very) low density areas rose from 2% in 1999 to 19% in 2017. Thus, in 2017, half of the living areas with infrastructure(s) were of low density, and one third were of intermediate density. During the 2000s and 2010s, the system was therefore largely deployed in peri-urban and rural areas. The more recent period, between 2017 and 2019, was characterized more by an increase in reception capacities in living areas that already had facilities—notably linked to the diversification of the types of infrastructure (Figure 1)—than by the creation of structures in new areas. While urban centres with more than 200,000 inhabitants were particularly mobilised in this perspective, there was also a significant increase in the reception capacity of extra-urban living areas.

17The evolution of the National Reception System since the end of the 1990s seems to have been guided by a logic of distribution across the country, reflected in a strong dispersion of accommodation facilities between regions and between types of areas. Although this distribution is already long-standing, the recent increase in accommodation centres has led to spatial distributions differentiated by type of structure and has reinforced the role of rural and peri-urban areas as territories favoured by the policy of decentralisation at the national level (Map 3).

19Two types of facilities stand out for their strong presence outside the major cities: Accommodation centres for asylum seekers (CADAs) and Reception and Orientation Centres (CAOs). Only 20% of living areas with CADAs and 24% of those with CAOs are densely populated. Many CADA are located in the peri-urban communes on the outskirts of the Paris and Lyon agglomerations, in small rural towns in central France and in the sparsely populated rural communes in the south-west and the Massif Central. This spatial distribution of CADAs has changed in recent years, with an increase in accommodation capacity in already covered living areas, especially outside large cities between 2015 and 2017, and then more within large conurbations between 2017 and 2019. New CADAs have also opened in living areas that did not have any, especially in Brittany, the Massif Central and Rhône-Alpes. This spatial distribution and its recent evolution reflect the long-standing policy of dispersing institutional accommodation for exiles across the country and the continuation of this trend.

20The CAOs, for their part, constitute a salient example the geographical effects of the latest policies. Their mission is to disperse the exiled population from certain locations, which leads to their varied spatial distribution: they are present in every region except Île-de-France, and at the sub-regional level they are sometimes absent from regional metropolitan areas (e.g. Bordeaux, Nice). They are strongly present in rural areas: 40% of the living areas with CAOs are low-density or very low-density living areas. More precisely, these are isolated rural communes in the Limousin and Massif Central areas, and small rural villages in the centre of the country and the Pays de la Loire region. Finally, in the northern half and south-east of France, CAOs outside the major cities are mainly located in small towns in intermediate density living areas.

Diverse local reception conditions in rural areas

21Our analysis now turns to two specific study areas, chosen so as to account for the diversity of rural areas and the historical dimension of the logics and practices of exile reception in such places (see Methodological Box 2).

23In Occitanie, the CADA examined here, opened in a remote low mountain area, has just celebrated its twentieth anniversary and attests to a collective experience of reception over time. The demographic situation is only slightly deficient in that a migratory influx, significant since the 1970s, has compensated for the consequences of an ageing population. The area has notably been touched by various waves of ‘neo-ruralists’—often linked to social protest, particularly the civil unrest of May 1968; youth protests over the first employment contract (contrat première embauche – CPE) in 2006; or a more recent desire to break away from urban and consumerist lifestyles—whose successive arrivals have contributed to diversifying local socio-professional profiles, economic settlement projects and lifestyles. It stands out for its spirt of welcoming or openness towards ‘non-native’ populations.

Methodological Box 2: Understanding the local dynamics of reception in contrasting rural areas

24The distribution of exile reception facilities is decided at the national level after the prefectures have submitted proposals for the opening of centres formulated by the management organizations. Local elected officials are involved to varying degrees in this initial phase of the process; in some cases, they are only approached once the decision has been made. The CADA in Occitanie and the HUDA in Nouvelle-Aquitaine exemplify two distinct positions on the part of mayors regarding the opening of an accommodation facility. Though both municipalities shared the fact of having had to deal with the decision to set up an accommodation facility taken at the prefectural level, they have reacted rather differently—one by turning it into an opportunity, the other by maintaining a clear distance from this decision.

25In Occitanie, the opening of the CADA served to support municipal action. The village council readily accepted the prefecture’s request to transform premises initially intended to be a residence for young workers (Foyer de jeunes travailleurs - FJT). This change of use of the building was immediately seen as a way to stabilize the local population (of a just few hundred inhabitants), to maintain two important public services (the post office and the police station), and to create a few jobs. The arrival of asylum seekers has also allowed the school to expand thanks to the opening of an additional class. In the general mechanism of accommodation structure dispersion, the orienting of families towards this centre has thus become a priority in the support provided by the city council, as well as in the action of the centre’s professionals. Furthermore, the centre’s location in a rural environment is perceived by all of our interlocutors as posing particular challenges that only family life would allow to mitigate.

26The mayor’s support has continued beyond the initial establishment of the CADA to become a common theme in municipal policy and social work. He reports being in ‘permanent’ in contact with the centre’s management and his interventions are linked to the rural context. For example, the village council has, on occasion, been involved in rehousing people who have reached the end of their stay at the CADA. It also participates in the transport system for asylum seekers, i.e. school pick-up, weekly shuttles to larger communes for everyday purchases. Furthermore, an agreement has been signed for use of the municipal bus, with funding shared between the village council and the CADA management organization.

28This event occurred in a socio-political context that was not very favourable to the arrival of foreign populations. Initial hostility to the opening of the centre was expressed through the distribution of leaflets in the neighbourhood and a demonstration organised by the far-right political movement, Génération Identitaire, at the doorstep of the accommodation centre. At the initiative of a member of The Republicans (a liberal-conservative political party), a petition was supported by many people, and reported in the national media. Yet, as we shall see, beyond these initial reactions, the gradual arrival of the exiles has, on the contrary, aroused a surge of solidarity, partially formed by the local associative fabric.

29Since the opening of the centre, the municipality has shown a certain reserve. The three changes in management that HUDA has undergone since 2015 have no doubt made forging strong linkages a challenge. In contrast to the situation studied in Occitanie, the establishment of the centre has been marginal in terms of the small town’s demographic dynamics (just over 1% of the total population). The potential spillover effects on local development have also been perceived as more limited. According to the mayor, the integration of the centre and its residents into local life is the responsibility of the voluntary sector. The municipality has thus limited its support to the allocation of additional resources to the French charity, Restos du cœur. At the end of 2019, it acceded to a request from the exile solidarity collective, created upon the opening of the centre, allowing it to use municipal premises to carry out its activities. Between its moderate support for associations and its mission to maintain order in the neighbourhood where the centre is located, the municipal team keeps a close eye on the social dynamics generated by the reception facility.

Supporting exiled populations in rural areas: towards a local convergence of spheres of action?

Managing reception in a rural context

31The rhythms of the DNA, punctuated by the placement and displacement of exiles, highlights the multiple conditions of presence in the rural setting. Reception in these facilities is generally accompanied by an unawareness on the part of asylum seekers as to their place of arrival. They cannot, in fact, choose the latter, and the rural location of certain facilities seems at first to be little to their liking, or even feared by some due to the social isolation it would generate. Location is therefore generally concealed by the OFII, and constitutes a major issue when social workers take over.

32The social workers make initial contact in local train stations where new residents arrive, often after having stayed temporarily in a large city (Paris, Lyon, Toulouse, etc.). Once they have reached the accommodation facility, they are helped to settle in. The first steps follow a formalized reception protocol. In both Occitanie and Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the social workers described their activities to us as: preparing the newcomers’ room, issuing a residence contract in the applicants’ native language and putting together an arrival kit including basic necessities (hygiene, food, etc.). The presentation of the team and a brief welcome meeting with the structure’s management are also steps in the reception process that aim to help the exiles identify the available human and material resources.

33The local context of reception plays a determinant role in arrival dynamics. In Occitanie, this first stage is crucial. Social workers must deal with the sometimes marked anxiety and loss of reference points of new arrivals who previously stayed in distant French regions and are rarely aware that they would be housed in a village far from any major urban centre. The first step in the support process is thus to build trust and to highlight the advantages of the facility. This is quickly taken over by the residents already present, who provide a more informal welcome and integrate the new arrivals into community life. The impossibility of shopping for food on site is typically compensated for by a first meal prepared by the co-residents, who then re-explain to the newcomers the organization of daily life in the village.

34In the case of this CADA, reception is also facilitated by a long-established, dense associative network, reinforced by the events of 2015. The intervention of numerous activist groups during the waiting period, and particularly on weekends, helps the new arrivals to find their bearings. For families, the essential role played the school in the settlement process also comprises the extracurricular activities offered there.

35While observations revealed a supportive environment in Occitanie due to the long history of ties forged locally with activist groups, at the HUDA, social workers intially faced hostility from some of the population. In an interview with the previous director of the accommodation facility, she recalled, based on her experience in several reception structures, that asylum ‘always creates a stir in the countryside’. Such tensions should be considered not only in the light of local political colouring, but also of the history of places in which a tradition of reception could be forged. Today, in addition to the know-how deployed by social sector professionals, reception cannot be managed without the support of local associations.

37The arrival of this different profile of individuals has impacted the association in several ways. On a functional level, it has necessarily had to account for this new situation and partly reframe its objectives around more targeted actions (French courses, daily life in France, administrative procedures). On a structural level, the team has taken on a salaried individual on a subsidized contract, the sustainability of which depends on regularly negotiated regional funding. The official establishment in 2016 of the large region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine through the merging of three smaller regions has reinforced the peripheral position of our study area. In fact, the association has found it increasingly difficult to adapt its missions to the broader regional guidelines. Furthermore, the development of an appropriate reception is entangled in a game of territorial scales, where local asylum-seeker issues do not always align with the larger budgeting concerns of the new region.

38Locally, the associative sector is a precious source of support and the mobilization of the population has rallied new energy. The opening of the HUDA and the arrival of asylum seekers have led many inhabitants to volunteer to give French lessons. As opposed to the global action of the afore-mentioned association, this group has largely mobilized solely in favour of asylum seekers and is, as perhaps expected, composed mostly of retirees, sometimes involved for the first time in the associative sector. That said, others have contributed their professional skills, acquired in the social or medical sector.

39Today, such support underpins the actions of the social workers. Some of the association’s volunteers have, moreover, developed a mission to accompany asylum seekers in the framework of appeal procedures. In taking on in this particularly time-consuming and technical administrative aspect of the asylum-seeker process, they act as assistants to the social workers. While a necessary support for the formulation of appeals for asylum seekers, it also creates a certain degree of tension. A confrontation of professional and activist opinions can be delicate in the small social framework of the town. Talk of these tensions is listened to attentively by the municipality, as activist engagement, such as the decision to welcome individuals who have been refused asylum into their homes, places the elected officials in unprecedented situations.

40National dispersion therefore entails social assistance and a management of reception, where the ad hoc responses set forth by associative mobilizations underline the limits of a governmental policy deployed in territories where resources must be contrived to manage the arrival of exiles and their settling in, as well as the repercussions on local life.

Administering the wait for a decision on refugee claims in rural areas

41After the arrival and settlement of the exiles, the management of daily life and administrative procedures in ill-equipped and underserved rural areas prolongs the collaboration between social workers and volunteers. Indeed, the rural context has important repercussions in terms of the work of professionals and the support provided by volunteers. It requires a strong involvement in the management not only of the exiles’ mobility, but also that of the social workers and professionals outside the centres. The wait for decisions on refugee claims and its administration primarily revolve around this issue.

‘What is typical here is the physical accompaniment. We’re a bit like taxis. Surely, you won’t find this in city’. (Interview, 19 February 2019)

42In this CADA, located in a village in Occitanie without access to public transportation and with no grocery store, all daily life activities and monitoring of the asylum procedure require travel. However, the vast majority of the people housed do not have their own means of transport. Though the centre has two minibuses and a convention with the village council to facilitate making trips, these means are still insufficient, to the point that the residents who do have a vehicle are encouraged to carpool with other residents.

44In the small town in Nouvelle-Aquitaine hosting the HUDA, access to local services and leisure activities is easier. Everyday life can be managed, to some extent, on foot or by bicycle. The donations, loans and free repairs of bicycles offered by volunteers facilitate these local mobilities. However, access to medical care, administrative procedures or social visits require a car or bus journey to the nearest main towns, between 50 and 100 kilometres away. At this distance, and even if they are sometimes taken care of by charitable associations, the cost of transportation is high and the trips onerous. Autonomous travel is largely conditioned by language skills, knowledge of the transport system and the ways in which administrations or health care structures operate.

45The issue of mobility also very directly interferes with the practice of social work, as one such professional explained:

‘Sometimes it’s a choice to accompany the family for whom you are the referent, sometimes it’s a choice not to accompany them and have someone else do it. And this is really interesting, it’s sort of one of the particularities. We don’t just do interviews in the office, which is a somewhat formal setting, we also sometimes do very informal interviews in the car and this also allows us to get to know all the families a bit [...]. With the crazy turnover we have now, it sometimes helps us’. (Interview, 19 February 2019)

47Travel accompaniment represents the equivalent of one day’s work per week for each of the CADA’s social workers; hours seemingly lost for the social and legal support that form part of the establishment’s mandate. Yet, most of our interlocuters valued the hours spent in transport. Travelling offers a particular time-space to establish a relationship of trust. ‘Comprehensive’ assistance thus makes the most of the need to transport exiles to support asylum claim applications.

49The functioning of the managing organizations can also have an impact on the social work and tasks of the personnel. The geographical scattering of the facilities or housing dedicated to reception in rural areas has the effect of dispersing the activity of professionals. In the two establishments studied here, the directors are responsible for two to four other structures, which forces them to divide their work hours and presence, to travel extensively and to delegate certain tasks to social workers. The administrative management of the centres in rural areas is all the more complicated due to their isolation, which makes it difficult to attract staff. Indeed, applications to job openings are few, and contracts are frequently broken at the initiative of the employees.

50At the HUDA, this difficulty is strongly felt due to the low number of social workers (three) relative to the maximum capacity of reception (ninety people). The combination of the small staff and the geographical isolation of the centre has contributed to transforming local solidarity into a form of delegation of responsibility for trips related to the administration of asylum.

51Indeed, a very large portion of the numerous trips to government services or nearby hospitals depend on the assistance provided by local associations. The association formed at the time of the HUDA’s creation now spends half of its budget on the transport of residents. Most requests for transportation are referred by social workers who ask for volunteers after having established an order of ‘priority’. During association meetings, a call is often made for more availability on the part of volunteers to take on these trips. This is, in fact, the main request made to the association by the centre’s managing organization. Yet, this investment requires a certain reactivity according to more or less urgent needs and close cooperation between the centre’s professionals and the volunteers. Moreover, this transportation ‘mission’ was underestimated or even ignored by most of the volunteers, who thought they would primarily engage in local activities more easily accommodated in their daily schedules. The overload generated by this task has ended up limiting the number of volunteers. Less than a quarter of the association’s volunteers are involved in travel support. Though they too are learning to value these moments of togetherness. Each administrative appointment is an opportunity for a prior exchange with a competent volunteer about the purpose and objective of the latter and then for discussions while on the road. Without this (hard-to-implement) support, the administration of asylum would be impossible. Indeed, in these rural areas, the absence or inadequacy of public transport in terms of meeting the time constraints of administrative summons can only be mitigated by the engagement of volunteers.

Negotiating the exit: ‘keeping’ exiles?

52While the government’s decision to settle asylum seekers in the countryside was notably driven by the availability of suitable buildings, at the local level, the possibility that they might stay long term seems to have encouraged certain communes to engage in their reception. For some elected officials, the settlement of exiles represents an opportunity for demographic and economic revitalization. That said, exit from the accommodation facility is a delicate phase. It requires, in fact, access to independent housing and/or employment. Once again, in the rural areas studied here, support for this step in the exiles’ journey involves as close collaboration between social workers and volunteers.

54The CADA studied in Occitanie is located in a department where access to social housing is easier than elsewhere due to the demographic decline of many communes. Solicited by the CADA’s social workers, the integrated reception and orientation service (Service intégré de l’accueil et de l’orientation - SIAO), providers of social housing, and the family allowance fund (Caisse d’allocations familiales - CAF) work together to find housing for those granted protection within the legislated timeframes. The professionals emphasize the advantages of working in rural areas, where interpersonal relationships are more numerous and closer, and social networks more dynamic. Yet, the activation of professional networks assumes that the exiles agree to stay in the department. Negotiations between professionals and exiles over available housing therefore involve a reorientation of the refugees’ residential paths towards the department’s small and medium-sized towns. Far from unfolding only in rural communes, the geography of reception consequently connects different types of spaces.

55In the HUDA, the management of places, considered to be ‘poor’ by the director of the centre— recall that this is the responsibility of the OFII and not that of the facilities—leads to an under-occupation of the facility. Yet this difficulty allows individuals granted protection from the French State to benefit from a certain degree of tolerance on the part of OFII with regard to the organization of their exit. The authorities allow them, in fact, to remain beyond the time limits set by law. Though this prolonged stay once again highlights social workers’ difficulty in finding rapid accommodation solutions. Rehousing is hampered by access to local employment, once refugee status has been obtained. Occupational integration is a major issue here, a reminder of the importance of local conditions for the integration of refugees into the labour market (Herman and Rea, 2017). In the territory surrounding the HUDA, the agricultural sector has become a major provider of seasonal employment. In constant search of manpower for harvesting work, farmers may see refugees as an employment source. While initiatives are multiplying in neighbouring regions (Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire), employment location can represent an obstacle for beneficiaries leaving the facility. In fact, there is scarcity of places in social rental housing, and the accommodation offer rarely coincides with the places where refugees work. As one social worker explained, making a choice between housing and employment is difficult in the support process. For refugees, though employment is a barrier to exiting the facility, it is a first step in acquiring financial independence. There are rare exceptions, often used as examples by social workers and certain volunteers to emphasize that local integration is possible. For example, a former Eritrean resident of the HUDA recently obtained a permanent job as a waiter in a nearby restaurant, which now regularly calls on other people housed in the facility for temporary jobs.

57In addition to the difficulty of reconciling housing and employment opportunities, there is also a mismatch between the accommodation offered to refugees and their expectations. Some statutory refugees refuse housing that they consider to be too small. This is interpreted as a sort of ‘caprice’ by social workers in the HUDA, which has been subject to coercive measures on the part of the OFII. The reception contracts now explain that any refusal on the part of the refugees leads to their expulsion from the facility. The reluctance expressed by some might also be interpreted as the expression of ‘oversight fatigue’. Indeed, such reactions may be a backlash to the numerous moves experienced before, during and even after the procedure, which often far from align with the individual or family aspirations of the refugees.

59Though the social integration of asylum seekers may seem to be the responsibility of social workers, the situations observed in the field reveal the non-negligible role of local associations. In Occitanie, an association was created in 2014 by professionals all having (had) social activity experiences with asylum seekers; the aim being to promote encounters and exchanges between CADA residents and the local population. It was, in fact, thanks to this mediation that the young woman described above was able to volunteer for a farmer living near the CADA.

60In contrast, the more recent opening of the HUDA and the less dense associative network does not allow for this integration dynamic, even if things are changing. After three years of existence, interspersed with moments of tension with different senior management that succeeded one another in heading the HUDA, the local association providing assistance to migrants has begun to reflect on ways to reorient its activity towards helping with local integration.

‘Thanks to the municipal premises that we have just obtained, we could set up a permanent office for people who have just been granted refugee status and who want to settle here. We could connect with social workers to see how to help with next steps’. (Interview, 13 December 2019)

61Particularly these last few words, expressed by the head of the association, are important insofar as the workload of the social actors and the staff turnover in this facility have made it difficult to support the ‘continuation projects’ of beneficiaries of asylum.

Conclusion

64Based on the study of two reception centres located in rural areas, this article sheds light on some of the effects of the French policy of dispersing exiles. Though rural areas have recently been mobilised by the authorities in emergency situations to move exiles out of higher concentration areas (Calais, Paris), this dynamic of dispersal towards the countryside is actually much older. It dates back to the 1970s, was institutionalised by the national reception system and has been strengthened since the mid-2000s. The multiplication of the types of reception structures makes the system more complex and confusing, while also reinforcing the dynamic of distribution across the country.

65A qualitative investigation based on our surveys reveals that rural areas face the same general problems of reception of asylum seekers, though with certain specificities unique to this context. On the one hand, a lack of clear communication between the authorities and local elected officials and a decline in the number of social workers and funding granted are particularly salient in the small towns and villages observed here. On the other hand, the rural location gives a somewhat different tone to reception management. Specifically, the issue of mobility is a fundamental concern in the provision of social support. Helping with travel can affect social work, as well the relations between managing organisations and volunteers. In this equation, the important question of the role public services and municipality involvement arises. The attention paid herein to the role of mayors reveals their influence on the overall structuring of reception actions.

67At a time when the issue of asylum reception generates the creation of a network of territories and towns that define themselves as ‘welcoming’ (e.g. through the National Association of Welcoming Towns and Territories [Association nationale des villes et territoires accueillants] - ANVITA), the predominance of the urban model in France—in social science research and in institutional thinking—highlights the persistent invisibility of rural communes in contemporary debates. Yet, in the heart of small French towns and villages, both pioneering places as well as those that are newer to asylum reception can be found. In rural areas, the diversity of initiatives and engagement reveals a reception know-how being developed through interactions with the authorities, management bodies and exiles.