Between social and sanitary: policies against poverty and insecurity in twentieth-century France

Axelle BRODIEZ-DOLINO, Between social and sanitary: policies against poverty and insecurity in twentieth-century France This article seeks to examine yet unexplored policies against poverty and insecurity under a double perspective. Firstly, as a complex and multi-shaped maze, with a fundamental role played by local authorities and organisations : indeed, France, like Germany and Anglo-Saxon countries, falls under a mixed economy of welfare. Secondly, as a recurrent articulation of sanitary and social vulnerabilities, the only basis considered as politically correct until the mid-twentieth century. From the beginnings of the Third Republic to the eve of the First World War, these policies were elaborated by a general evolution from the local sphere to the national sphere by targeting communities presenting a double sanitary and social vulnerability. From one war to the next, the consecration of social hygiene moved the direction of social action even further towards the realm of the sanitary, even though traditional assistance was seemingly temporarily revived by the 1930s crisis and the difficulties entailed by the German occupation. Finally, the focus on the remaining 'Pockets" of poverty (especially the elderly and immigrants) during the "Glorious Thirty" (1945-1975) led to the intermingling of both forms of insecurity, although it was no longer exclusive.