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This paper looks at how residents participate in local public action regarding nightlife. The municipality has set up a participatory mechanism on nightlife issues, a “Conseil de la Nuit”. However, although some residents are invited to take part, they are not the core of the Conseil de la Nuit, which remains focused on bar owners. Eventually, residents are not much involved. Nonetheless, the paper shows that residents have other resources. They take side roads to bring their causes to the attention of public authorities. This research is based on an ethnography carried out, in a particular city, during an seven-month internship with the councillor assigned to nightlife issues, as well as on about fifteen interviews and a study of press articles.