This paper draws a parallel between regional policies and claims of social movements in Québec. It is structured as follows: first, it discusses the new official discourse about « partner state » (Etat accompagnateur), which supports the current restructuring of the regional administration. Secondly, it analyses the main trends of the regional situation in order to lay down negative consequences of spatial specialization. Thirdly, it examines a regional social movement, as one case of an emerging community discourse which links economic and social development. And, finally, it replaces the regional question into the context of a fundamental social choice and into a geopolitical perspective which concerns both regions and the state. The theoretical background of this paper is drawn from regulation theory.