The Physical Economy of France (1830–2015). The History of a Parasite?

Abstract This article explores long-term trends and patterns of material use in France for a 185-year period. It is the first long-term study of material flows for France with national and yearly data for most of the period. Based on a material flow analysis (MFA) that is fully consistent with current standards of economy-wide MFAs and covers domestic extraction, imports, and exports of materials, we investigated the evolution of the French metabolism from industrialization to financialized capitalism. Over the whole period, there is a 9-fold increase in domestic material consumption, an expansion of material use per capita, and a spectacular addition of abiotic resources (fossil fuels and …

L’invention du Gaspillage. Déchets, métabolisme et histoire

International audience

The Contamination of the Earth. A History of Pollutions in the Industrial Age

International audience

L'économie matérielle de la France (1830-2015). L'histoire d'un parasite ?

This article explores the long-term dynamics of material use in France over a period of 185 years. It is based on material flow accounts that are perfectly consistent with the standards of Material Flows Analysis at the national economic scale. This work - which covers domestic extraction, imports and exports - is the first long-term study of material flows for France, with annual and national data for most of the period. Our database allows us to study the evolution of French metabolism during the industrialization of the country, together with the increasing dependence on abiotic materials. We highlight a singular metabolic trajectory: that of a state that benefits from successive world-s…

Mémoires malheureuses de l'industrie à l’âge écologique

National audience

La contamination du monde. Une histoire des pollutions à l’âge industriel

International audience

Pollution

Naissance de l’enquête ouvrière : Villermé, les hygiénistes et les ouvriers

International audience