La population non agricole au village : différenciation et prolétarisation de la société rurale

The Non-Agricultural Population in the Village: Differentiation and Proletarianization of Rural Society. The non-agricultural population is becoming the majority of working population in rural districts of Midi-Pyrénées area. But this population cannot be considered as an homogeneous body beside the farmers who are themselves very differentiated. The inquiry work held in six districts "representative of various regional situations enables to characterize the social groups in the village. Among the non-farmers, the most numerous are the workers and the employees, working on the spot or daily migrants. If a lot of them have a country descent, a strong minority among the non-agricultural working people has been living in the village for only a short period. The passage from agriculture to non-agricultural activities does not occur preferably on the spot. Workers above all can be double-active. It is true, especially in agricultural districts. But the double-activity is often only transitory. Then it has a familial reality, and develops itself only rarely at the individual level. The conflict between social groups is due to their behaviour in social and municipal life. If the tradesmen, the craftsmen, the local bourgeoisie, the middle-class farmers and sometimes the officials in public and private sectors ' occupy ' the Town Council and supervize the socio-cultural life, the workers, the employees and the small farmers stay on the fringe of the village society. are the workers and the employees, working on the spot or daily migrants. If a lot of them have a country descent, a strong minority among the non-agricultural working people has been living in the village for only a short period. The passage from agriculture to non-agricultural activities does not occur preferably on the spot. Workers above all can be double-active. It is true, especially in agricultural districts. But the double-activity is often only transitory. Then it has a familial reality, and develops itself only rarely at the individual level. The conflict between social groups is due to their behaviour in social and municipal life. If the tradesmen, the craftsmen, the local bourgeoisie, the middle-class farmers and sometimes the officials in public and private sectors ' occupy ' the Town Council and supervize the socio-cultural life, the workers, the employees and the small farmers stay on the fringe of the village society.La population active non agricole devient majoritaire dans les communes rurales de la région Midi-Pyrénées. Mais cette population ne peut pas être considérée comme un ensemble homogène face à des agriculteurs eux-mêmes très différenciés. Le travail d'enquête mené dans six cantons représentatifs des diverses situations régionales permet de caractériser les groupes sociaux au village. Parmi les non-agriculteurs, les plus nombreux sont les ouvriers et employés, travaillant sur place ou migrants quotidiens. Si beaucoup d'entre eux sont d'origine paysanne, une forte minorité des actifs non agricoles ne vit pas au village depuis longtemps. Le passage de l'agriculture aux activités non agricoles ne se produit pas de préférence sur place. Les ouvriers surtout peuvent être double-actifs, particulièrement dans les cantons industriels. Mais la double activité n'est souvent que transitoire, portant davantage sur le groupe familial que sur l'individu. Leur comportement dans la vie sociale et municipale oppose les groupes sociaux. Si les commerçants, les artisans, la bourgeoisie locale, les agriculteurs moyens et parfois les cadres des secteurs public et privé « occupent » les conseils municipaux et contrôlent l'animation socio-culturelle, les ouvriers, les employés et les petits agriculteurs restent en marge de la société villageoise.Cohou Michel. La population non agricole au village : différenciation et prolétarisation de la société rurale. In: Études rurales, n°67, 1977. pp. 47-59