Abstract
In more of the third of the French middle towns, the elections of 1977 brought a political change for the exclusive benefit of the parties of left. The text analyzes the changes caused by the election of a new generation of elected officials starting from a comparative study of three cities Albi, Castres and Montauban. The budgetary data show that the most outstanding changes relate to the improvement of the situation of the communal employees and the development of new services to the population. They however highlight the weight of the constraints related on former managements and the limitations of the resources.