In 1973, the French government, in response to considerable pressure from small retailer interest groups, introduced legislation aimed at restricting the future growth of large area retail stores. The "Loi Royer" established a series of departmental planning commissions composed of retailer, locally elected, and consumer representatives. These commissions were given the power to authorise or reject planning applications for large retail units and extensions to existing stores, above certain size thresholds dependent upon the size of the commune in which development was to take place. The law allowed for an appeal procedure in which the Minister of Commerce and Crafts, advised by a national commission of similar composition, was the final arbiter. This thesis examines the impact of the "Loi Royer", with particular reference to hypermarket development in France. The spatial and structural growth of large stores, and large retail organisations is assessed, with case studies undertaken on the application of the law in the Brittany region, and the growth of the Carrefour group. The role and form of public policy in the retail sector in general is also considered. The composition of the commissions and proceedures established by the legislation provided considerable potential for influencing the development of large stores in France. However, whilst the legislation has had some short term and localised impact upon hypermarket development, in the long term, the restrictive effects of the law must be questioned. By exploiting various loopholes and failings in the legislation, hypermarket openings have continued, and the large retail groups have maintained their growth largely at the expense of the small retailer, whom the law was intended to protect. The legislation may also have indirectly encouraged numerous strategic adaptions, on the part of the larger retail organisations, which have served to further improve their position vis a vis smaller retailers, or introduced large retail groups into sectors traditionally dominated by independent traders.

Cette histoire est celle d'un remembrement commercial (par analogie au remembrement agricole), encouragé dès 1963 par Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, ministre des Finances. En effet, prédominant jusqu'au début des années 1960, le petit commerce indépendant décline ensuite de manière continue et la grande distribution capitaliste se renforce, grâce notamment à des mesures d'aides au financement des investissements ou à des incitations fiscales (TVA). À partir de la fin des années 1960, l'effort de remembrement commercial n'est cependant plus univoque, car le mécontentement des petits commerçants s'amplifie et s'illustre parfois par des protestations violentes. Votée en 1973, la loi Royer est alors censée inaugurée une nouvelle politique d'équilibre entre les différentes formes de commerces. Elle se distingue cependant par ses effets pervers contraires aux objectifs annoncés et sa réforme revient de manière récurrente dans l'agenda politique jusqu'en 1996. / This thesis looks at retail trades' transformations in France, from 1945 to 1996. It opts for an institutional perspective and examines the state intervention in the sector. Archival collections from ministries, from the presidency of the Republic and from different central administrations were explored, and the state's action toward retail trades was studied as a sectorial policy. Hence, this work analyses, among other subjects, urban planning, commercial relationships between retailers and suppliers, professional training or the question of Sunday openings. This is the story of a retail amalgamation (remembrement commercial), encouraged as early as 1963 by Finance Minister Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. Indeed, predominant until the 1960s, small independent retailers then declined continuously while hypermarkets and big capitalistic retail developed, thanks notably to credit facilities and fiscal incentives (V AT). From the end of the 1960s, this amalgamation policy became Jess unequivocal as the discontent of small shopkeepers was rising, sometimes resulting in violent protests. In 1973, the Royer law was voted and claimed to insure an equilibrium policy for different forms of retail. Yet, this law was characterized by its unanticipated effects and the will to reform the law became recurrent in the political agenda until 1996.