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The vineyards of Côte-Rôtie and Condrieu succeed to the glorious gallo- roman vineyard of the country of Vienne. However they suffer a spatial regression : the motorisation is not possible in these steep slopes, moulded in narrow banks, which induce very heavy costs of production.

In the Valence country, the rhodanian hills are covered with a patchwork of vineyards with a great diversity in the appellations as in the soils. This different vineyards are facing many problems such as mecanization on steep slopes, predominance of old farmers working on microfundia, low yields. The wastes and the building progress, and the vineyard will vanish soon if not protected by a special policy.

The growing strength of the MODEF (Mouvement de Défense des Exploitants Familiaux: Union of small independent agriculturists) in Vaucluse has been analysed in the light of the number of votes recorded in favour of this Union in the election to the Chamber of Commerce. Between 1960 and 1976 there were held three elections of representatives of independent agriculturists. The MODEF made steady progress at the expense of the F.D.S.E.A. (Fédération Départementale des Syndicats d'Exploitants Agricoles) : in 1976, the two Unions were nearly equal in strength. This result, achieved by the MODEF in a technically advanced area, sheds new light on this Union and on the farming community. Several factors account for the success of the MODEF : a high percentage of small farmers, their opposition to the Government's policy and their political commitments, rural mental habits, the structure and dynamism of this Union. In the last analysis, it is most strongly entrenched in the vine-growing villages of Vaucluse, in the Côtes-du-Rhône area in particular.