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This paper assesses the capacity of new towns for polarization within the system of employment interdependencies in the Paris metropolitan area. Three components of polarization interact: the supply and quality of jobs, the degree of autonomy or dependency from the main pole (Paris), and the range of polarization. These components represent the part played by new towns in the polycentric metropolitan system. To assess the specific role played by new towns, this paper compares them with ten other employment poles.