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In this paper, we focus on discourses and representations at the time of the creation of protected agricultural areas. Two case studies conducted in peri-urban areas analyze these discourses and their translation in terms of protected spaces. When municipalities make use of the tool of protected agricultural areas, they have one territory-related project in mind, and they carry it through. As a result, top-down practices come into question. The appropriation of rural spaces by local politics leads to the end of farmers' monopoly on agricultural development. We show that protected agricultural areas are superimposed on the preservation landscape and that the reinforcement of productive agriculture is inserted into economic sectors.