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A body of literature is interested in how decision makers and elected officials approach citizen participation. Beyond the most institutionalized forms of participation, there are few studies on how they position themselves in relation to more bottom-up forms of citizen participation, not solicited by institutional actors. This paper is based on the analysis of different decision makers and elected officials’ judgment in France, Spain and Belgium, in relation with assertive citizen groups. The paper brings out new elements to this literature on the democratic imaginary of elected officials and power holders.