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This paper investigates the essential features of the French population's holidays, since about ten years. It examines the main characteristics of participation rates in annual holidays, pointing out that well known inequalities are very slowly rectified, and outlines a regional geography of comportments. Destinations and types of accomodation are also studied.

Long disregarded by French geographers who have considered only its sociological aspect, leisure offers a range of investigations which is all the wider as leisure activities have an increasing part to play in families' lives and budgets, in space (whether it be specialized spaces or mere « support » spaces) and in the economy of the different areas. The implications are not difficult to figure when sports facilities, amenities and specific trades enable people to enjoy leisure and involve related industries and important activities (electronic toy-industries, arms factories, sports items manufactures, printing and publishing houses, optics firms, building contractors and public works...). Its interest is real, were it only because of the involved migrations when leisure requires no more than mere « support » spaces and limited investments.

Notwithstanding the crisis, the number of secondary homes has been continuously increasing in France : its got five time higher since 1954, riching number of 2,258 342 in 1982. The big lot of them are situated in the littoral and mountainous regions that surpass the periurban week-end areas. If the rural space musters most part of the secondary homes, towns count 41,4 %. The democratization of the processus has multiplied the types and, in spite the inegalities, each one in any professional category possesses one. The secondary home ranks first in the types of holiday accomodation, although its increasing has its good points its overincreasing calls severe criticism.

The author makes an appraisal of geographical research carried out in France during the last 30 years or so, relating to tourism and leisure in the rural environment. This assessment makes it possible to isolate the main themes referred to and to observe their evolution. The following are analysed along with the main bibliographical references ; town-country relations, the economic and social impact of rural tourism, it's role in the development of the countryside and it's relations with the natural environment. The evolutionary viewpoints are set out by way of a conclusion.

The French geographers involved in seaside tourism deal with touristic areas. They rely upon statistical methods which are now perfected. They analyse the process of the utilization of space by tourism and regional development. They tend to see touristic development in terms of spatial competition and extend their considerations to include an evaluation of social and economic factors.

Despite the notorious inadequacy of tourism statistics and the fluctuations of the policy of mountain development, the research devoted to mountain space (especially the Alps), in the geography of tourism, is getting more and more important and diversified. The author of this article presents some of the most remarkable works published on this question during the last few years, more particularly about the patterns of touristic development, the perception of touristic space, the forms of touristic activity, the economic and social impact of tourism, the relationship between tourism and environment.

On the year 1980, the foreign tourists have passed more than 30 millions of stays and more than 250 millions of bed nights in France. The tourists number increased by degrees, but the duration of the stays decreased slowly : Germans, Belgians, Bristishs and Dutchs totalized 68,4 % of the bed nights. Paris and the coastal regions, principally the Mediterranean shore, were the most frequented areas. This frequentation was an important economical share, but involved also some problems of town and country planning.

France is one of the first countries in the world sending and receiving international tourists. However her third place in the world for the whole touristic coming out (about 17 millions) she sends abroad only 15 % on an average of her total holiday flows. Her touristic balance, steadily in excess for more than twenty years, has reached the record figure of 23 milliards in 1983 : it is an exceptional situation regarding to the other industrial countries which are almost showing a big deficit.