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In France, a second round of decentralization has been organized by the law of August 13 2004 pertaining to « freedoms and local responsibilities ». Under this law, the ports of national interest are transferred from the State to different public levels (Region, Districts, and municipalities). The ownership, the management and the maintenance of these ports have also been transferred. This transfer introduced a process of negotiation between the institutional policy makers who manage the ports. This process and the new public policies related to this decentralization is the subject of this article. The purpose is to explain the new port management, the variety of political actors involved in these ports, the new model of governance and new direction of port activities. These developments will be illustrated by the example of the port of Toulon.