Researchers and activist citizens working together

With Amina Béji-Bécheur, University Professor of Management at Université Gustave Eiffel and Anthony Marque, spokesman for the Narse de Nouvialle collective.

On the volcanic plateaux of the Cantal region, to the north-west of the town of Saint-Flour, lies a vast narse (wetland, in Occitan) whose subsoil is of great interest to a mineral extraction and processing company. Classified as a protected “Natura 2000” site, it is extremely rich not only for its geological features, but also in terms of its flora and fauna - 150 species have been recorded, including 80 protected birds - and supports significant agricultural activity. Local residents and officials take a dim view of this industrial mining project.

From opposition to proposition

The Narse de Nouvialle collective was formed in 2021 as an association, which now has nearly 2,000 members. It is determined not only to stop the project from going ahead, but also to propose an alternative economic project that is sustainable and respects the environment. However, moving from opposition to proposition is not easy for an activist group made up of people who, although united in the defence of a common cause, can have diverse if not divergent individual interests. This requires a methodology and tools that cannot be improvised. The association found the help it needed to support this process among the researchers working on the Alternative Organisation for North-South Citizenship (Organisation Alternative de la Citoyenneté Nord-Sud - OAC-NS) project, run by the Management Research Institute (Institut de Recherche en Gestion - IRG).* The OAC-La Narse project resulted from this encounter.

* In partnership with Université Gustave Eiffel, Université Paris-Est Créteil, Lab’URBA, the Interdisciplinary Science, Innovation and Society Laboratory, and the Paris School of Urban Engineering.

Texts written by the Kogito agency after interviewing the co-sponsors.