ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book addresses series of questions related to the evolution of intergovernmental relations and the governance of metropolitan cities. It discusses the city council’s various phases of adaptation to the new economic order and to the urban policies launched by the Conservative government. The book deals with the redevelopment of a public space in Villeurbanne, a municipality which is also situated in the Lyon suburbs. It highlights the balance of power and domination at the centre of relations between local elected representatives and their technical services on the one hand and ‘residents/citizens’ on the other. The book also addresses important dimension of the implementation of decentralisation laws in France: the reconstruction of metropolitan leadership through the transformation of exchanges between local elected representatives. It analyses in detail the meeting and the clash between opposing forms of legitimacy and reference territories.
