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For fifteen years now, we have been witnessing in France the emergence of a new, and quite original, model of public debate. By creating the National Commission of Public Debate the French legislator has shown its will to create a new form of discussion between all stakeholders about public policy projects. Nevertheless, its progressive institutionalization reveals tensions between two ways of conceiving communication in politics. On one side, the CNDP offers to citizens new opportunities to make their voice heard during democratic arrangements and contributes to diffuse a new culture of discussion. Communication in politics is here apprehended as deliberative process. On the other hand, its anchorage within the decision-making process is still fragile and remains contested by some political elites who perceive communication as an instrumental tool.