This article analyses the evolution experienced by research in urban and regional science in France between 1991 and 2000, comparing these changes with wider international trends. Nine of the leading international journals of regional and urban studies were used in drawing up rankings of countries, authors and institutions and in exploring publication patterns. We examine the strategy adopted by the French in establishing themselves within the world s top five in regional and urban research and report a number of interesting findings when comparisons are drawn internationally.
