Geography of eco-communities in France and Québec: Diverse radical rural initiatives towards socio-ecological transition

Our sincere congratulations to Dr. Florent Amat, who defended his thesis entitled Geography of eco-communities in France and Québec: Diverse radical rural initiatives towards socio-ecological transition, on January 19 2026, at the University of Rouen-Normandie. This thesis was completed in joint supervision with the Institute of Environmental Sciences at the University of Quebec in Montreal.

Thank you to the members of the jury, Kirsten Koop, Juan-Luis Klein, and Camille Hochedez, for their contribution to this important milestone in my academic career.

Composition of the jury:

Kirsten Koop – University Professor, Grenoble Alpes – Rapporteur
Juan-Luis Klein – Full Professor, UQAM – Rapporteur
Camille Hochedez – University Professor, URN – Examiner
Arnaud Brennetot – University Professor, URN – Director
Laurie Guimond – Full Professor, UQAM – Director
Christophe Imbert – University Professor, URN – Director

Abstract:

Eco-communities in rural spaces are established by groups of people who decide to live collectively on the same site or land in the countryside to experiment with ecological and alternative lifestyles and forms of organization. Thus, they engage in a politicization of everyday life. These particular initiatives have been growing in popularity for more than two decades in France and Quebec. This thesis contributes to the political geography of peripheral rural spaces from a relational perspective, observing the controversies surrounding their future and their place in the sustanability transition. By looking at all scales and across multiple spatialities, it highlights how these eco-communities articulate different relationships to space and various political ideas. This results in diverse socio-spatial strategies ranging from micro-local retreat – in an almost autarkic way – to a broad openness to (trans)national networks – with the aim of scaling up –, as well as a very strong involvement in local development – demonstrating a drive to transform society from bottom up. To this end, this thesis firstly examines the discourse and practices of these collectives. Secondly, it focuses on their interactions with each other and with a variety of actors, particularly local public actors. Drawing on the concepts of territory, territoriality, territorialization and networking, the study highlights the variety of ways in which these collectives politically engage with regards to their relationships with space. Beyond everyday politics, it emphasizes the weight of different political practices and of pragmatic, economic, emotional, and other considerations for such initiatives. The results make it possible to place eco-communities in the broader contexts of rural change and sustainability transition. Moreover, they highlight their contribution to the search for solutions to social and environmental crises. By using a multi-sited perspective and mixed methods, this thesis goes beyond the micro-social level often associated with this type of studies. The methodology combines qualitative field research, discourse analysis, spatial analysis, and hyperlink network analysis. Thereby, the study investigates ecological community living in Québec and France, on the Internet, and in the regions of Gaspésie, Ariège, and Orne.