A ‘continental European nightlife’? The evolution of nightlife venues and their stakeholders since the 1980s: Urban and rural dynamics around a French intermediate city

Urban nights in Europe have undergone significant transformations since the 1980s. In order to better understand the origins and consequences of these changes, this paper presents a diachronic analysis of the nightlife scene and its regulation and governance in a French intermediate city and its surroundings areas from the late 1970s to the present day. By distinguishing several periods, it demonstrates that night-time activities have gradually multiplied, diversified and concentrated in urban areas. By placing them alongside changes in regulations and governance, it reveals that these changes have not been driven by a deregulation of licences or a laissez-faire approach associated with the 24-hour-city policies, but have been carried out by a wide range of stakeholders. The national and then local public authorities have set up consultations with these various players to both support and supervise these transformations. This article thus clarifies what the so-called ‘continental European nightlife’ looked like in a French city when British cities were adopting 24-hour-city policies, and how it has evolved since then, and highlights certain factors that could explain the differences observed between the UK and France.