Abstract (EN)

In many countries, there has been increasing move to rely on the market to decide how state-owned land is currently used and how it will be used in future. In the last few decades, hectares of urban land and forest, as well as military sites, courts, hospitals, university buildings and public housing have been sold, mostly to the private sector. This article draws on a review of the available literature to develop a sociological perspective on the commodification of state property. Based on the French case, it highlights the contested character of state-owned land commodification, as different institutionalized rationales conflict with the market logic. It combines political sociology and economic sociology perspectives to address three questions: Why does land privatization matter? Is the commodification of state-owned land just another neoliberal reform? Does commodification submit the French state to market forces?