Displacement and gentrification in the France-Luxembourg border region

Description: This research shows the effects of gentrification and advantageous fiscal policies in Luxembourg by analysing the housing situation and perception in the French border region. In previous research articles (Mezaros & Paccoud, 2022; Mezaros et al., forthcoming), it was established that the housing market in Luxembourg became profitable for investors mainly due to fiscal policies meant to stimulate the production of housing. As buy-to-let gentrification develops
in Luxembourg, some owner-occupiers are displaced – directly or indirectly – across the border in France, Germany or Belgium. The study aims to understand what is special about being crossborder displaced in France, as the two countries have different laws, legislations and above all an important wage gap between people working in the same jobs on either side of the border.
I analyse this particular border region as both sides of the border were heavily industrialized in the past, with many steel factories and coal mines which brought thousands of workers to the region.
After deindustrialization or the crisis of the steel industry, the Luxembourgish side of the border managed to quickly reinvent itself through the shift to financial services, which then allowed the transformation of a district of Esch-sur-Alzette in a city of science and research. Communities on the French side of the border, where little local development occurred, thus became increasingly dependent on Luxembourg’s dynamism.
Through semi-structured interviews, I show how the cross-border gentrification and displacement affects both locals and newcomers. First results show a tri-fold displacement: of people working in Luxembourg who relocate to France and become cross-border workers, of individuals working in France who need to move further away from their workplace due to the competitiveness of the housing market in areas bordering Luxembourg, and of those who come to work in Luxembourg but rent or buy directly in France. The increasing number of cross-border workers has a generally negative impact on French border towns, where the public administration lacks the financial resources to maintain public equipment and public space.