There is a growing literature on the shift from government to governance at the local level and related reforms of local government (see e.g. Le Galès 2000; John 2000; Kersting/Vetter 2003; Haus et al. 2005; Heinelt/Kübler 2005). But little is known about how urban leaders – mayors and chief executive officers (CEO) – perceive and assess these changes.1 This contribution tries to close this gap in respect to France and Germany based on two surveys undertaken by international teams in recent years.2 It will address questions concerning networking activities of local political leaders, the notion/understanding of local democracy and the perceived needs and conditions for administrative reforms (according to the model of New Public Management). Due to the fact that data are only available for certain points in time no comparison over time is possible. However, we can compare the responses from French and German local political leaders.