Expliquer l’inondation : la presse quotidienne régionale dans les Alpes et leur piedmont (1882-2005)

Depuis les années 1950, les mutations socio-économiques des communautés riveraines sont vives. La presse quotidienne régionale, réceptacle des connaissances communes et savantes, des décisions politiques et des évènements marquants de la vie sociale, permet d’appréhender le savoir géographique vernaculaire. À partir de cette source privilégiée, cet article relève les mutations de l’explication des inondations au cours du XXe siècle. L’analyse porte sur 111 évènements intervenus entre 1882 et 2005 dans les Alpes et leur piedmont. Les résultats montrent que l’évolution des représentations environnementales a accompagné celle des pratiques riveraines en relation à l’inondation, en particulier dans leurs manifestations de solidarité et de conflictualité.Since the end of the 19th century and especially after 1950, France was characterized by major land use changes in rural areas, an agricultural revolution, and rural depopulation. Vegetation maintenance practices were discontinued, in-stream wood was no longer salvaged, some alluvial farmlands were no longer cultivated, and afforestation began 50 years ago. The media are an important source of information on environmental problems; they configure and relay both local and global discussions and debates in the public sphere. In particular, the regional daily papers disseminatescientific and popular knowledge and publicise government decisions and key facts about society. Based on this accurate source of vernacular geographical knowledge, this study aims to show changes in explaining floods during the 20th century and to show how the temporal evolution of environmental representations has been accompanied by alterations of river uses related to floods. The survey focuses on a chronology of 111 hydrological events in the Alps and their piedmont between 1882 and 2005. Conflictual situations and solidarity relationships are highlighted in these riverine territories