OIL COMPANIES AND THE BOOM IN THE MARITIME POLLUTION CONTROL MARKET IN FRANCE (1950s-1980s)

Abstract

From the 1950s onwards, oil pollution increased sharply across the maritime spaces of Western Europe. This was due to the coastal relocation of refining units, the multiplication of deballasting operations near shorelines, and the growing capacity of oil tankers — all of which raised the spectre of devastating oil spills in the event of loading incidents or shipwrecks. Initially denounced by fishermen, whose livelihoods suffered directly from the depletion of fish stocks, the oil industry soon came under fire from environmental groups and NGOs for contributing to the degradation of marine ecosystems and to the rising technological risks along coastal areas. At the same time, however, some companies in the sector paved the way for an emerging “pollution control economy”. From the production of chemical dispersants designed to break up oil slicks to the creation of subsidiaries specializing in recovery equipment (floating booms, surface skimmers), the marketing of such devices allowed these firms to diversify their activities while presenting themselves as key actors in the implementation of environmental regulations and risk-prevention plans — such as France’s POLMAR plan in the early 1970s. Yet the public image of oil companies, oscillating between polluters and repairers of ecological damage, remained fraught with controversy, especially as scientific studies began to highlight the inefficiency or even the toxicity of oil dispersant products. Building on research that historicizes the green business and the dynamics of corporate social responsibility, this article examines the adaptability of major capitalist firms, capable of turning environmental criticism and regulatory constraints into profitable business opportunities. Drawing on the case of France’s Atlantic and Mediterranean coastlines — documented through the archives of the Ministry of the Navy and of the companies involved in anti-pollution efforts —, the analysis explores the emergence of a market in which new interactions developed between polluting firms and the public authorities responsible for environmental regulation.