Les rôles multiples des circuits courts alimentaires de proximité dans le programme LEADER : le cas des GAL d’Occitanie

This article studies the support for short local food circuits (SFSC) in rural development policy. We question the scope of the SFSC actions created by and for the territories through the local action groups (LAGs) of the LEADER program. Our analytical framework is based on political science, more particularly the functioning of public action. The lexicometric analysis adopted is original and makes it possible to get out of the usual approaches, based solely on a qualitative examination and according to the statements of the actors. The analysis of SFSC support actions reveals similarities and differences in the way two French sub-regions support them. The Midi-Pyrénées and Languedoc-Roussillon LAGs include support for SFSCs in economic reterritorialization actions. However, socio-economic actions take different focal points. The Languedoc-Roussillon LAGs are more oriented towards social cohesion and those of Midi-Pyrénées towards employment. Languedoc-Roussillon has the particularity of supporting the SFSCs within the framework of actions to promote natural, cultural and tourist heritage, as well as ecological and energy transition. Our results show the difficulty of getting away from traditional methods of intervention in favor of agriculture to better integrate food aspects. These results lead us to question how the inter-territorial dimension could be strengthened during the next LEADER program. The call for projects launched by the Regions should strengthen acculturation between the LAGs of the sub-regions and establish working habits, as well as the construction of shared governance. The 2023-2027 LEADER programme should be carried out according to common criteria for guiding the actions supported, which calls into question the ability of the future French LAG to take territorial diversity into account. This work should be extended by studying a larger number of territories mobilizing the SFSC in the LEADER programs.