PMUs, mirrors of day-to-day and regional French life
Case study: Public Affairs & Consumption
Need
In collaboration with the Fondation Jean-Jaurès, Pari Mutuel Urbain (PMU) wanted to carry out a research project on PMU bars to shed light on their social and local importance in the face of changes in sociability.
Approach
The approach is based on face-to-face interviews in various PMU bars, online focus groups with customers and sales teams, and a national survey supplemented by mapping analysis.
Impact
The study underlines the role of PMU bars as hubs of conviviality and local services, with results being shared in the form of analyses in the media as well as at external and internal events.
Clarifying the role of PMUs in our regions, step by step
Deep-dive into life at the counter
An ethnological approach was carried out in several PMU bars in France. Inspired by the “micro-vox-pop” method, it was based on spontaneous discussion with managers, employees and customers, enabling to observe social practices and local realities on a day-to-day basis.
Understanding everyday voices
Online focus groups brought together regular customers and PMU sales teams. These collective discussions enabled to compare experiences and perceptions, gain a better understanding of usages, and identify areas to be addressed across PMU bars in different contexts.
Observing France through its bars
A national survey of 2,000 people aged 18 and over provided a representative view of the French population. This quantitative approach was further enriched by a mapping analysis, enabling to identify the national and local specificities of PMU bars.
With over 14,000 outlets across the country, the PMU network represents a unique vantage point for observing the dynamics at work in the country.
Gaspard Jaboulay
Ifop Opinion
When sociability reinvents itself at the counter
The study highlighted the “third-place” functions of these establishments, in the sense of the term coined by sociologist Ray Oldenburg: social bonding, micro-services, local identity. The results have been widely disseminated, via an analysis summary, media coverage, public events and in-house workshops.
Find the full study here: ” Micro-counters”. A sociological survey of PMU France.
Jérôme Fourquet
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