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This paper analyzes the meaning and stakes of “participation” in social associations in the Nord region of France. These associations claim to be actors in participative democracy, yet they behave as managers of the inhabitants’ participation. For the social worker, unpaid administrator, and volunteer, institutionalized approaches to participation present constraints that challenge their place in the organization and the meaning of their action. The low degree of involvement by “inhabitants” adds to the confusion. Therefore, “participative practices” paradoxically contribute to the crisis of the values of advocacy.