The working paper pertains to the thematic field “demography and migration” and highlights the challenges for territorial development in the Greater Region. Particular emphasis is placed on cross-border residential mobility at borders with the Grand Duchy, on population ageing and on the guarantee of general interest services in rural regions.
How far are the border areas in fringe areas? This chapter emphasises the relativity of the fringe location of the borders depending on the considered spatial and temporal standards. The ambiguous relationship between fringe and border is initially discussed by various emblematic cases in France and Europe. The standard must therefore be changed in order to look at the type of fringe location, which is then reflected by a multi-scale approach of the border regions, between the EU as a whole and the cross-border regions in North-Eastern France. These elements permit a definition of the fringe area in conclusion.
