Thèse soutenue le 6 octobre 2000 au LGIT devant le jury composé de : Pascal BERNARD Rapporteur et président Pierre BRIOLE Examinateur Michel CAMPILLO Directeur de Thèse Fabrice COTTON Directeur de Thèse Shamita DAS RapporteurThis work presents seismic source studies using near?field data. In accordance with the quality and the quantitv of available data we developped and applied various methods to characterize the seismic source. Macroseismic data are used to verify if simple and robust methods used on recent instrumental earthquakes may provide a good tool to calibrate historical events in France. These data are often used to characterize earthquakes to be taken into account for seismic hazard assessment in moderate seismicity regions. Geo...