Urban public space supports asymmetrical practices between men and women. Is it also a bearer of social norms ? Is it also able to suggest or to impose particular types of behaviour upon each gender ? This article examines the savoir-vivre manuals published in France during the past century. It specifies the influence of public spaces legally accessible to all upon the reproduction or transformation of gender relations, and the limits of this influence. Using this data source makes it possible to establish spatial distinctions based on gender identifications of places, thus enabling more sophisticated analyses of the notion of public space.