  We present a microscopic analysis of the collective behaviour of the lead
isotopes in the vicinity of Pb208. In this study, we rely on a coherent
approach based on the Generator Coordinate Method including exact projection on
N and Z numbers within a collective space generated by means of the constrained
Hartree-Fock BCS method. With the same Hamiltonian used in HF+BCS calculations,
we have performed a comprehensive study including monopole, quadrupole and
octupole excitations as well as pairing vibrations. We find that, for the
considered nuclei, the collective modes which modify the most the conclusions
drawn from the mean-field theory are the octupole and pairing vibrations.
