Social Stratification: Winners and Losers

The New Class System

Tourism creates hierarchies:

Winners - Property owners with rentals - Business owners in prime locations - Multilingual skilled workers - Early adapters to tourism

Losers - Renters facing displacement - Traditional businesses unsuited for tourists - Monolingual older residents - Late arrivals to communities

The Squeezed Middle - Essential workers priced out - Young families unable to afford homes - Small businesses competing with chains - Cultural practitioners marginalized

Teacher Catherine commutes 45 minutes: "I teach in Saint-Tropez but could never afford to live there. My students are either wealthy newcomers' children or the few remaining local families hanging on. The middle disappeared."