Abstract
Compared with the eight self-governing ports (Dunkirk, Rouen, Le Havre, Nantes/Saint Nazaire, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, Marseille and La Guadeloupe), and of the three overseas ports in the fold of the State, French maritime ports considered local come under the control of regional authorities. This article presents the study led by a group of French and Canadian researchers on the decentralization process carried out in France between 2004 and 2007 for 18 ports of national interest. This analysis focuses specifically on the Mediterranean ports of Port-la-Nouvelle, Sète, Toulon, and Nice. Change in their governance will have considerable consequences on their development, integration in regional and/or national dynamics, and integration in their respective urban environments. If certain developments are common to the 18 ports in question, others are tied to the particular profile of these four ports and to the specificities of their Mediterranean contexts.