In France, for the purposes of the census, the INSEE has defined several population indicators that allow people who live in more than one place to be counted in each place, to study and keep count of population movement.
A parallel may be drawn to English laws that allow students to register and vote in local elections in more than one place.
The population figures of France depend on the definition of "French".
The population totale is used when applying rules and regulations to budget and finance, in particular in section R2151-2 of the Code of Territorial Collectives.
[1] But the population municipale determines the size of a council and the scrutiny of municipal elections, R2151-3.