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This special issue aims at contributing to the scholarship on public sector management reforms by focusing on the role of middle managers in French public administration. In comparison with other countries, most studies of French administration either focus on the role of top civil servants in the design of reforms or on their consequences for the work of professional and street-level bureaucrats. Based on a survey of the relevant literature in a variety of disciplines (management, public administration, political science, and sociology), this introductory paper outlines empirical and theoretical reasons justifying the need to study middle managers. After having established the relevance of middle management as an analytical category, we present the papers gathered together within this special issue. Due to their intermediary position within administrative hierarchies, middle managers play a pivotal role in provide a framework for reform initiatives and translating them into operational routines, new management devices and structures. We conclude by suggesting new research questions for the study of the managerial reforms of public administration.