JS-56.4
Mutual Influences Between a Social Movement and a Specific Organization in France: The Case of the National Radioactive Waste Management Agency (ANDRA),
The deep repository project was moving into a technical phase of geological exploration, with a local presence on four sites, which pushed the organization to confront local populations. The launch of the geological reconnaissance gave rise to local social movements, who joined together at the national level to oppose the repository project. These social movements managed to block the project by combining the mobilization of local elected representatives and violent actions. The government proposed a moratorium to suspend the project.
Thus, the social movement succeeded in having a direct influence not only on the progress of the project, but also on the organization of the Agency, through specific claims made at that moment. Those claims were adopted by political power and led to an institutional change through a law: political leaders saw in the social rejection of the project a questioning of the institutional system, not a questioning of the technical solution. This is why political powers used the law to put an end to the social deadlock and also to relaunch the technical project. It is interesting here to analyze the link between social movements, claims and their institutional consequences, which transformed ANDRA into a public institution, independent from the Atomic Energy Commission and from waste producers. In return, this institutional and organizational change helped political stakeholders counter the social movement.