France

Abstract

Press data from Le Monde on environmental protest are drawn on to explore the rise & fall of green protest in 1990s France. Demonstrated is the pervasive structural weakness of the French environmental movement, seen as a function of political & economic factors. Electoral results of green parties are then compared to the pattern of environmental protest to shed further light on this structural weakness. Analysis of the groups involved reveals a double process of fragmentation & institutionalization that undermined mobilization. The morphology of the environmental movement is considered to assess the former, while institutionalization involved the co-opting of associations by local & regional authorities for establishing projects with no concomitant discretionary power. In addition, the widespread acceptance of environmentalism has also contributed to the movement's decline. 6 Tables, 3 Figures. J. Zendejas