This paper is in French. This account is placed within an approach to understanding the development of European rural areas. It identifies the characteristics of British rural areas which are comparable to or different from French areas. It highlights the political questions which are important today in Great Britain for rural development and the methods which are being used to foster such development. Among the comparable situations is a decline of rural areas then their revival in the context of common EU policies with distinctive effects on the least favoured in rural society. After a review of historical and cultural differences between the two countries, particularly the nature of town-countryside relations, the key questions about British rural social development are discussed.