The first Water resources development and management plan (Schéma d'aménagement et de gestion des eaux) approved in France (1997) and the Riverprize award (2005) have presented the Drôme catchment as a model of integrative and participatory river management. However, at a local scale, different stakeholders show their disappointment because of the difficulties of extreme hydrologic event management. Two local weeklies published between 1981 and 2008 were gone through to consider the attitudes toward the river, the hydrological extremes and crisis management. Thanks to a content analysis, 1103 articles reveal how the crisis creates some specific spaces. The results highlight the spatial and temporal discrepancies that exist between the positive (inter)national influence of watershed management and the diversity of public perceptions based on local specificities and different types of stakeholders. Despite well-known biases, newspapers appear as an efficient source to investigate the local stakeholders in their daily surroundings.
