Abstract. - The employment policy "emplois-ville" was designed to favour the incorporation into the labour markets of young adults living in social housing schemes and deteriorating inner city areas. This policy is used to illustrate the significant application of "geographic priority", advocated by the Ministère de l'Emploi et Solidarité and by the Ministère de la Ville. These "emplois-ville" were established in 1996, within the main of urban poles of in each departement. Although they now appear to have disappeared or to be forgotten, these "emplois-ville" have served to identify in 1996, within the main urban centres of each departement, sites which proved to be the most discriminating in terms of employment at the scale of the street.Ré...