To analyze the demographic evolution of France's cities, a double condition is necessary. Firstly, a similar geographical scale must be chosen to allow comparison of trends between cities, and secondly, statistics must be available on the chosen scale. This approach, which is more complex than might appear at first sight, will be the subject of the first part of this chapter, as we need to know what definition can be given to the term "city". Then, in the second part, we'll analyze urban dynamics in France.
