 The European LEADER programme, a model for public action to redirect the economies of marginal rural areas towards tourism? 
This article offers a geographical analysis of the application of the European LEADER programme as a public policy instrument for the promotion of territorial development. On the basis of an evaluation of the 2007-2013 programme, we analysed how to identify and promote the resources required for the development of tourism and leisure activities in marginalized rural areas in what was previously the Languedoc-Roussillon region in France. This case study combines statistical analysis with a monographic approach to highlight the socioeconomic challenges involved in the tourism conversion of rural areas and to characterize local action for territorial development.