— Targeting Social‑Sector Performance ? French Département‑level Assistance and Social Action Directors – Their Views on Managerialisation — Given the current emphasis on “public‑sector performance,” the use of rhetoric around the idea of “social performance” has become commonplace in the social sector. How is this situation perceived by welfare state stakeholders ? Whereas studies have been carried out on “Welfare elites” at the top and on social workers further down the ladder, very little is known about the assistance and social action directors at the “département” or intermediary level. It is however, at this very level, within the “conseils généraux,” that largely decentralised social policies are overseen. This article analyses their views of managerialisation from a “social performance” standpoint, based on data gathered through a nationwide survey carried out in 2011.