he implementation in Montpellier of the new rules about urban districts highlights the role of Georges Freche’s political leadership since more than twenty years. The different dimensions of such a leadership are successively analysed in terms of material and collective goals, in terms of political configuration and by assessing the role played by the Mayor of Montpellier and his followers in the symbolic construction of the city and its territorial destiny. Key-words : Georges Frêche, Montpellier, political leadership, followers, urban history, personal political style