Governance of French Yachting Harbours : a case study

There is currently an increase in the media attention given to yachting harbour management. Some of these harbours have existed since the 1960s and yet, it is only recently that problems have arisen between public and private partners. This paper presents the case of leisure harbours and designs an initial model of their governance issues. An empirical analysis of a single case shows that the usual study of publicprivate opposition must take into account the agency relationship between local authority and its electors. The results, yet to be confirmed by a quantitative survey, indicate that traditional representations of the behaviour of public leaders are not totally relevant in a touristic context. Furthermore, the Harbour Council, the board which assembles public and private actors, tends to act more like a bureaucracy than a regulation organ with concern to stakeholders’ management.