Abstract
The LEADER approach and local development in France. In order to achieve a better understanding of the issues involved in local development, we have chosen to concentrate on the implementation of the LEADER programme by France. In this country, the programme has made it possible to support regional development projects initiated by local actors in rural areas. The aim of the study is to describe and analyse the context in which the LEADER programme has been applied, and its implementation in a particular context of decentralisation and regionalisation. The authorities did not want the LEADER+ initiative and the LEADER axis (2007-2013) to be ordinary types of policy that would be applied in the same way in all rural areas. The programme should bring a genuine added value in relation to the national and EU support policies, combining with these policies so that "synergy" and "complementarity" factors can be fully effective.