Heritage's approach is a phenomenon in extension concerning more and more objects and areas, and being studied by social sciences since the 1980s. It is, however, addressed only from the angle of protection and « official » recognition, the criteria of which are determined by agents of the administration of heritage conservation (ABF, DRAC). Claims of local officials, residents and owners regarding heritage's characteristics of some industries still operating, invite me to examine the notion of heritage. How can we conceptualise these objects and social and territorial processes associated with them? In order to discuss this, this dissertation proposes the notion of « heritage of the present ». Constructed in opposition to the « heritage of the past », it helps me to understand the heritage extension, its foundations, and boundaries. The research is based on field surveys conducted with local actors acting directly or indirectly on the heritage river areas in the valleys of the Loire and the Rhone. Sixty-nine semi-structured interviews are used to restore some of the imaginary, memories and representations related to these areas. I choose to focus on power plants, especially hydro, thermal and nuclear power plants still functioning, which objects I consider to be examples of « heritage of the present »
