Theories on current developments of spatial power tend to oppose two conceptions, both actual and contradictory. On the one hand, boundaries seem to be more and more fortified. But, on the other hand, there seems to be faster and freer circulation. To overcome this antinomy, this paper suggests a more complex apprehension of spatial power based on the model / figure of the checkpoint. This model shows that what is at stake is not the opening or the closing of social space, but the management of permeability. There is a direct political meaning to our study, because the management of permeability implies specific forms of resistance, far from the classic transgression of the limit / boundary.