Introduction. Villes, territoires et énergies : enjeux et défis actuels

Energy has become an integral part of urban politics to very varying degrees. This introductory paper examines the current structuring of a public policy for energy underway in France. It is emerging in the indications of ?energy governance?, with apposite urban projects and coordinated development actions. For a long time, French cities were seen as lagging behind in environmental matters, but they are now showing proof of a hybrid incorporation of energy issues into urban policies. The progression of their relationship with energy is connected to the European experiments at the same time as occurring in the wake of a national incentive for transition. French cities? changing relationship with energy is embodied in three approaches. It is symbolised by local councillors? capacity to move beyond this combined influence and propose original projects; by their tendency to refocus their energy commitments on the social rather than market benefits of these initiatives, and by the opportunity it gives them to guide the ongoing transformation of the professional landscape of fashioning cities, and the knowledge and skills associated with this.