Today, city governments are facing the replacement of human decisions by algorithmic ones. The substitution is not only technical and professional but also political; it calls on the ability of local officials and citizens to think and be responsible for society projects. Jean Haëntjens questions the consequences of the growing weight of the digital economic giants on local democracy, and shows a way between the smart "city" and the traditional political "city" that can still find its place in this new landscape, and reassert its meaning.