“Conseils citoyens” are the most recent of the participatory measures created within the framework of French urban policy. This article is the introduction to a special report on this measure. It looks back at its genesis, its characteristics, its paradoxes. On the basis of the evaluations already produced elsewhere, an overview of the various articles in the special report and a presentation of the challenges the measure faces with regard to participation, particularly in working-class neighborhoods, the article shows why and how “Conseils citoyens” are struggling to renew the participatory offer, despite the promises that prevailed when it was created.