This paper examines the role of the precautionary principle (PP) in transforming the French regulatory landscape for genetically modified organisms used in food and agriculture over the last decade. Despite few explicit references to the PP, we argue that it has been instrumental. The changes do not result from a linear top-down process, as in the application of a new law. Instead, the PP has acted as a point of articulation for debates in different public arenas; through these debates, the PP

more »

... as been progressively translated into pragmatic practices. New boundaries have been drawn between risk assessment and risk management practices. This has facilitated the progressive emergence of a distinct arena of scientific expertise and opens the possibility for the reciprocal emancipation of public decision and scientific expertise.