Blue growth in the face of citizen protests: analyzing the participative democracy process through four case studies in Brittany (France)

Abstract

Blue growth is a European strategy that aims to develop the economy by tapping the potential of unexploited oceans, seas and coastal areas. The political agenda of blue growth focuses on the development of several economic sectors, such as marine renewable energy and aquaculture. In France, the development of these two sectors is impeded by the resistance of citizen movement within the communities in which such projects are planned. These citizens’ movements question the legitimacy of the state to implement economic developments that are deemed beneficial to communities and seek greater participation in this decision-making process. Nowadays, citizens’ involvement during the implementation phase of the projects, called participatory democracy, is encouraged in order to prevent conflicts of interest. This article shows how participatory democracy can help kick-start the discussion and decision-making process to achieve consensus among the different parties. With examples from four projects, one from the offshore wind farm sector and three projects from the aquaculture sector in Brittany, the article analyzes different stakeholder discourses focusing on social acceptability as well as how the participatory democracy works in the consultative phase of these projects.