Ref the house prices there is a lot of resentment in the Savoie where I lived before, in Bourg Saint Maurice. Many locals cannot afford to buy any more, the prices are silly. But what they forget is that the local economy mushroomed from a largely agricultural 'subsistence'-type existence in the early 20th century to a massive mainly ski tourism-based industry with the emergence of some of the richest per capita communes in France, and thousands of jobs where there would have been none. Before the tourist explosion there was an exodus of young people to the big cities in search of work. The same demand that pushed up house prices is the one that made it worthwhile for locals to stay and work in the Savoie in the first place.
The same applies in many respects to Provence - the influx of foreigners, British, Dutch, Scandinavian, Parisian
etc, has been responsible for a major boost to the local economies, and job creation.