Contenu du sommaire : La rose et Les Verts

The Michel Rocard government, notably with Brice Lalonde as Minister of the Environment, demonstrated a desire for closer relations between the French Socialist Party and The Greens. But the essentially technocratic aspect of the government's measures failed to convince The Greens, who rejected any agreement and virulently criticized the government's actions, particularly those undertaken by Brice Lalonde. Despite significant movement at the national level (regarding catalytic converters, strengthening the ministry, the creation of ADEME (the French Environment and Energy Management Agency), the protection of the Loire, etc.) and at the international level (The Hague Climate Change Conference, the protection of Antarctica), this convergence with the main political ecology movement would not occur until the serious political failure of the Left in the 1993 legislative elections changed the playing field.

This article investigates the environmental policies implemented in the early years of the Mitterrand socialist government (1981-1986) through the evolution of environmental law, examined from the two-fold perspective of positive law, enshrined in a body of legal texts and case law, and its examination in legal doctrine. It shows how specialized legal experts attempted to structure an avant-garde space in the legal field and to elaborate a doctrine on what laws for nature protection should look like. Their hopes for reform were dashed, however, and they were forced to contend with the pressure put on environmental laws in the name of growth and competitiveness, even more so after the emergence of austerity measures.

The Loire estuary nuclear power plant project, elaborated by EDF (the French national electrical company) in 1974 and abandoned in 1997, stands out in France for its temporal scope. It is therefore an ideal vantage point from which to observe the changes in anti-nuclear mobilization that occurred during François Mitterrand's presidency. Initially contested in Le Pellerin by local Parti Socialiste (Socialist Party) officials, the project was suspended in 1981 and moved 15 kilometers downstream to Le Carnet. It was then slowly defended by the same Socialist officials at the regional level, but also constantly attacked. Its history shows the fluctuating positions of national and local officials, and Socialist activists, as well as their relationship to anti-nuclear movements. It also bears witness to transformations in the French nuclear industry, from the equipment program in the 1970s-1980s to the reallocation of resources to support the EPR (European Pressurized Reactor) at the end of the century.

The issue of climate change, which became a global agenda item in the 1980s, gave rise to an ambitious policy in France from 1988 onwards, spearheaded by Environment Minister Brice Lalonde and Prime Minister Michel Rocard. Between 1988-1991, the country saw real momentum in support for public actions to safeguard the climate (diplomatic initiatives, quantified emission reduction targets and the promotion of an eco-tax on carbon and energy as a new policy instrument). However, the French oil companies Elf and Total (now grouped together as TotalEnergies) responded to these initiatives with competing diplomacy in international and European arenas and major efforts to sow doubt and engage in lobbying. By 1991-1992, the main climate ambitions agreed in 1989-1990 had already been abandoned. The emergence, contestation, and demise of France's first climate policy are elucidated by combining public and private archive material and interviews.

This paper examines the emergence of the political, scientific, and environmental controversy surrounding forest dieback attributed to acid rain at the start of the 1980s. This article first looks at the conditions surrounding the birth of this controversy, tracing it back to its source, with a detailed analysis of the discourse across the Rhine concerning Waldsterben (forest dieback), or the hypothesis that the forests were dying as a result of cross-border acid pollution. The article then draws parallels between the reactions to forest dieback on the French and German sides and explores the ramifications of this controversy within the administration during François Mitterrand's first seven years in office, focusing on the differences of opinion against a backdrop of institutional competition. These low-profile differences contrast with the open conflict that reupted between the Secretary of State for Forests and the unions of the National Forestry Office (Office nationale des forêts), as the two administrations were unable to agree on the diagnosis to be made or the solutions to be adopted. Finally, the article shows how President Mitterrand sought to overcome these divisions by proposing an international conference dedicated to safeguarding and protecting forests, known as the SILVA conference. This diplomatic show of strength was the high point of the publicity surrounding acid rain in the 1980s, before a decline in the face of the emergence of other environmental threats.

By cross-referencing various sources (trade union and ministerial archives, and interviews with former employees of the Tripode administrative building in Nantes), this article contributes to a social history of civil servants, an area which is still poorly documented from the point of view of health threats. The issues involved in setting up Hygiene and Safety Committees in the public administration are discussed in the specific context of the “modernization” of civil service during the Mitterrand years, while also shedding light on the asbestos risk to which civil servants were exposed.

This article looks back at the process by which the loi Montagne (the French Mountain Act) was drafted, to understand how, after the strong environmental protests and the ecological ambitions declared by the Socialists during the 1970s, the law that was finally passed prioritized development issues over protection. Part of the answer lies in the anti-colonialist rhetoric that, based on a simplistic historical narrative, equated the mountains with a territory colonized by urban France and its faddish environmentalist concerns. Although the law incorporated some of the buzzwords of the social and environmental movements of the 1970s, the discussions with elected representatives, administrations, and the socio-professional world between 1982 and 1985 gradually sapped the words of their substance and confirmed an arbitrary opposition between the ecology of “city-dwellers” and the interests of “mountain dwellers.”

Focusing on the materiality of the Komsomol membership card, this article explores the many dimensions of this political object from 1930 to 1964. First, it explains how the card was put into circulation, from manufacture to issue. The article then analyzes how the card became an instrument of youth control under Stalin and then of surveillance under Khrushchev. Finally, the article explores how the symbolic value of the card changed from one period to the next, as it survived the transition through the Second World War. The card became a totem, a fetishized object and then a trivial one in the wake of an increasingly inclusive youth policy. As the political situation changed, an object that had been the hallmark of militant communism was transformed into an agent of sovietization and conformity for generations of young Soviets.

How can a historian's research skills and experiences support his or her pedagogical choices when it comes to teaching the knowledge produced and the practices that underlie its production? This question is addressed from a didactic perspective through the notion of historiographical configuration, which models the practice of historical research by connecting questions, sources, and patterns of analysis. It allows us to grasp the relationships between students' knowledge and the knowledge intended for dissemination by the teacher, as well as between the different ways in which these three components are handled by students and historians. This analysis is illustrated by the case study of a second-year undergraduate course.