Presentation short abstract

This study examines emerging Rights-of-Nature initiatives in France, drawing on interviews and fieldwork in the Loire and Tavignanu rivers. It highlights their potential to reshape human–nonhuman relationships, as well as the barriers to their institutionalization and implementation.

Presentation long abstract

Today’s freshwater crisis highlights the need for water governance to move beyond anthropocentrism. Globally, Indigenous cosmologies that conceive nature as living beings have inspired the Rights of Nature (RoN) movement, leading to the legal personhood of rivers in Colombia, Australia, New Zealand, and beyond. While some cases foster bottom-up governance and empower riverine communities, many river rights remain largely symbolic and weak in implementation. In France, RoN initiatives are also emerging, e.g., the Parlement de Loire (2019) and the Déclaration des Droits du Fleuve Tavignanu in Corsica (2021). The Parlement de Loire, centered on the country’s last major undammed river, reimagines the Loire as a subject rather than an object, fostering dialogue among scientists, stakeholders, and citizens through artistic and participatory approaches. The Tavignanu Declaration, initiated by a Corsican NGO to oppose a landfill project and later endorsed by the Corsican Assembly, represents the 1st formal political recognition of river rights in France. Despite their innovation, both initiatives face significant obstacles in translating Indigenous-inspired legal/ethical concepts into France’s highly institutionalized and technocratic water governance framework. Local NGOs/activists act as temporary “spokespersons” for the rivers; neither has yet achieved enforceable legal status. Drawing on 38 interviews with actors in the Loire and Tavignanu, alongside participant observations of meetings and events, this study explores the opportunities and challenges surrounding the RoN in France and how these social movements may reshape human–nonhuman relationships and support bottom-up eco-centric governance practices. This research is part the French 10-year PEPR programme OneWater – Eau Bien Commun.