Didier Demazière

Didier Demazière develops a sociology of work, employment, and professional groups, focusing on labor markets.
His areas of research are :

• Unemployment and job search, which are examined at the intersection of the experiences of unemployed people and public activation policies ;
• The careers of elected politicians, examined at the intersection of electoral uncertainties and security mechanisms, and through the prism of the material costs and rewards of political engagement ;

In addition, he pursues theoretical and methodological reflection devoted to biographical perspectives and interactionist approaches.

Listen to the Objets Trouvés podcast with Didier Demazière: Le chômage et la recherche d'emploi

EDUCATION

2001
Habilitation (professorial thesis) in Sociology, University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (guarantor: Alain Chenu)

1991
PhD in Sociology, Lille 1 University of Science and Technology (advisor: Claude Dubar)

OTHER ACTIVITIES 

2023-2027
Member of the Scientific Committee for the Evaluation of the Full Employment Act

2022-2025
Member of the Committee for the Evaluation of Unemployment Insurance Reform 2019-2021

2015-2025
Member of the UNEDIC Evaluation Council

2019-2022
Member of the CEREQ Scientific Council

2019-2021
Chair of the Work and Innovation Committee, French National Research Agency

2016-2021
Chair of Section 40 of the CNRS National Committee

2005-2019
Editor-in-chief of the journal Sociologie du Travail

2011-2017
Director of the Doctoral Program in Sociology at Sciences Po

2010-2016
Member of the Scientific Council of the Center for Employment Studies

2011-2015
President of the French Sociological Association

Since 2013
Member of the Scientific Council of Pôle Emploi 

1995
CNRS Bronze medal

• Didier Demazière, Minna van Gerven, Magnus Hansen, Stefano Sacchi (ed.) 2026. From Efficiency to Ambivalence: How Digitalisation Reshapes Labour Market Activation and the Moral Econonmy of Welfare State. Journal of European Social Policy (hal-05470231)
• Didier Demazière, Ray Griffin, Magnus Hansen, Janine Leschke (ed.).2025.  Digital Public Employment Services in Action, Bristol, Policy Press (hal-05470315)
• Didier Demazière, Richard Wittorski (ed.) 2025. Encyclopedia of Professionnalization. Iste, Wiley (hal-04741526)
• Didier Demazière, Lefebvre Rémi (dir) 2024. Des élus déclassés?. PUF Vie de Idées.
• Didier Demazière, Jérôme Pélisse. 2025. Les conditions d'exercice des mandats. Premiers résultats comparatifs (maires, députés, sénateurs et exécutifs régionaux et départementaux). (hal-05470205)
• Didier Demazière. 2026. Les chômeurs de longue durée: à distance de l'emploi. Dans Frétigné C., Semenowicz P. (dir) Grand manuel de l'insertion. Dunod. (hal-05470301)
• Didier Demazière, Alizée Delpierre. 2022, Un chômage sans recherche d’emploi ? Une zone d’ombre dans la littérature sociologique sur les expériences du chômage, Sociologie du travail, 64(3), https://doi.org/10.4000/sdt.41644
• Didier Demazière, Rémy Le Saout. Vivre de la politique. Rémunération des élus et indemnisation des mandats. Revue française de sciences politiques, Presses de Sciences Po, 2021, 71 (1), pp.7-28. ⟨10.3917/rfsp.711.0007⟩. ⟨hal-03300493⟩
• Didier Demazière, Marc Zune. When job search is deemed insufficient: experiences of unemployed people disbarred following compliancy monitoring. Social Policy and Society, Cambridge University Press (CUP), In press. ⟨hal-03300555⟩
• Didier Demazière , Rémi Lefebvre, Débattre d’une juste indemnisation des élus. Enjeux, critères, propositions, Livre blanc de l’Observatoire de l’éthique publique, avril 2023, 53p. ⟨hal-04269700⟩
• Didier Demazière, Feasible work and unemployment experiences, In Pultz S., Sharone O. (ed.), Handbook on Employment and Society, Cheltenham, Edward Elgar Publishing, sous presse. ⟨hal-04269758⟩

All publications