  Multi-planetary systems detected by the Kepler mission present an excess of
planets close to first-order mean-motion resonances (2:1 and 3:2) but with a
period ratio slightly higher than the resonant value. Several mechanisms have
been proposed to explain this observation. Here we provide some clues that
these near-resonant systems were initially in resonance and reached their
current configuration through tidal dissipation. The argument that has been
opposed to this scenario is that it only applies to the close-in systems and
not to the farthest ones for which the tidal effect is too weak. Using the
catalog of KOI of the Kepler mission, we show that the distributions of period
ratio among the most close-in planetary systems and the farthest ones differ
significantly. This distance dependent repartition is a strong argument in
favor of the tidal dissipation scenario.
