In this article, I examine the functioning of the Local Information Commissions (LICs) set up in France as a way of liaising between representatives of nuclear facilities and local populations, enabling the latter to monitor the operation of these plants. I argue that creation of the LICs allowed the management of both distrust (harboured by the population vis-à-vis the nuclear plants) and technological risk (posed by the plant to its neighbourhood) through the use of criteria selected by their participants: 'neutrality,' 'independence' and 'disinterested action.' These criteria are deemed fundamental in terms of the success of the communication between the company and the general public, especially in a context riven by the conflict (very often described as a 'war') between supporters and promoters of the nuclear industry and those campaigning against it.
Social conflicts in France; Public participation; Nuclear risk