Denis Laforgue is a sociologist at LLS (Langages, Littératures, Sociétés-Université de Savoie). His work focuses on « public institutions » as social entities invested with a mission to serve the public interest, endowed with strong organizational structures, and acting as socializing agents with a reasonable capacity to have an impact on individual entities. His comparative studies, which involve State and local administrative bodies, deal with the diversity and scope of several institutional actions in relation to (a) the subjective experience of users regarding the institutional process ; (b) the scope for action available to individuals in their daily lives ; and (c) the capacity to build social cohesion.