From the north-east to the south-west of France, a band crosses the hexagon, calledthe “diagonal of emptiness” by some geographers or the diagonal of low population densities.
The diagonal of emptiness?
A subject of geographical debate, this name is nevertheless based on geographical realities.
What if it were simply the diagonal of calm, the quiet diagonal, the peaceful diagonal?
With a smaller population than the rest of the country and a steady demographic decline since the last century, this diagonal is also a place of calm and discovery for travellers in France.
To situate it, let’s look at the map of population densities by department in 2010:
From 5,000 inhabitants per km2 (black) to less than 40 inhabitants (pink),
18 towns and urban areas with more than 400,000 inhabitants.
The diagonal is represented approximately by the dotted lines.
Source : Wikipedia
More than a diagonal, it’s a “Y” that stretches from the north-east and north-west of France towards its centre and then towards the south-west and the Pyrenees, where the country’s population is declining.
Then, for a closer look at the region over time, here’s a map showing 40 years of demographic change in France’s cantons:
1968-2009
Diagonal travel…
Looking for a relaxing trip, on foot, by map or reading?
Map of the quiet diagonal
From town to village across the regions of France, a possible diagonal :
Walk around France
Le chemin sauvage offers you a tour of France, the hyper-rural route, in stages or in its entirety, from Brittany to the Belgian border, via the Massif-Central and the Pyrenees.
Diagonal reading
Two authors have taken a closer look at this imaginary line and travelled it on foot or by bike, far from the beaten track.
Walking the diagonal of emptiness by Jean-luc Muscat
An experience of walking from Vézelay in the Yonne department to Figeac in the Lot department over 25 days in April, a journey of 660 kilometres along what demographers call the diagonal of emptiness.
The route twists and turns between signposted and unmarked paths, roads hostile to pedestrians and those intended for pilgrims.
Following this itinerary of solitude, our observer passes through areas of very low population density; with few shops and few local services, it is at once tranquil and austere, poetic and sad, ordinary and beautiful.
As well as the pleasure of the walk, he discovers a reality that the hiker cannot ignore, and it is with great sensitivity that he depicts his experience, which is both sensory and social.
The book Marcher sur la diagonale du vide by Jean-luc Muscat is available in paper or electronic format from your favourite bookseller or online from FNAC .
The diagonal of the void by Mathieu Mouillet
La diagonale du vide, un voyage exotique en France is the story of this backpacker-style trip, on foot or by bike, staying with locals or under the stars.
A roadtrip at 4 km/h to discover a France that motivates!
Mathieu Mouillet takes you on an exotic journey through the least populated parts of France, to those places that are too easy to pass by “because there’s nothing to see”.
Like a hidden treasure, the author invites you to discover a secret France, full of diversity, passion and enthusiasm, far from Paris, Lyon, Marseille or Toulouse.
Along the way, he met around thirty local personalities, reflecting civil society in a different and sometimes forgotten France.
You can find the book in your bookshop or directly online.
On the black roads
Book and film on the subject of the diagonal of the void, Sylvain Tesson has made a trek along this imaginary route. Sur les chemins noirs, to be discovered in map form, in writing and at the cinema:
Nobody lives here in France
Did you know that over 30% of France is uninhabited? Let’s take a closer look at this (large) part of the country with almost no inhabitants:
Travel+
- Nobody lives here: 32% of France unoccupied?
- Sections of the wilderness path
- France in maps
- IGN maps of France
- The vacuum diagonal, Wikipedia
- The diagonal is emptying? An exploratory spatial analysis of demographic decline in mainland France over the last 50 years by Sébastien Oliveau and Yoann Doignon