This doctoral dissertation is an essay on the territories of judo in France. Its objective is twofold: first providing elements of knowledge and tools for interpretation of the distribution of this sport in France, then studying the territorial distribution of the members and the necessary facilities, while posing the question of the potential for strengthening on the national territory. Ranking first among indoor sports and fourth among sport federations, with over 580,000 members as of 2009 in metropolitan France and an average penetration rate near 9 members per thousand inhabitants, judo is a key element in the sport system, with 76% of people doing judo being under 18, 73% of whom are male. The reasoning that was chosen in the following research resorts to history, geographical space and cartography to analyze the genesis of this sport and its territorial distribution. I have used geographical theories, particularly concerning diffusion, metropolization and territorialization of the ways of practicing. Yet the bulk of the work concerned cartographical research and data processing and provides a new set of maps, figures, tables and charts obtained from the analysis of available resources. Thus using general elements about the place of judo in the world as a starting point, and studying the stages of its diffusion in France, and then using statistical processing, I come to grasping the localization of people doing judo at the various levels, local, regional and national, and to considering prospects of development. To this end, this essay constitutes a necessary basis for understanding and proactive management of judo in France.
