The CNRS is re-politicising the digital sphere through citizens' conventions on digital sobriety

Through factors such as the influence of Big Tech , social media addiction, data protection, digital technology is completely transforming our lives and yet the subject is rarely debated in the political sphere. “We saw this during the local elections [in France]. Digital technology is still seen as something we just have to live with and never debate. As citizens, we have to realise we need to politicise digital issues, by which I mean bringing them into public debate”, says Françoise Berthoud, a CNRS research engineer  who has been working for twenty years or so on issues linked to the impact of digital technology on the environment. Repoliticising digital technology was the aim of the digital sobriety conventions organised in the framework of the Altimpact project led by the French Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe), the CNRS and the National Institute for Research in Digital Science and Technology (Inria). These conventions were modelled on similar conventions on climate issues and were held in five French towns – Grenoble (Isère region), Lyon (Rhône), Mouans-Sartoux (Alpes-Maritimes), Veynes (Hautes-Alpes) and Angers (Maine-et-Loire) – that hosted these rather unique events led by researchers. They were based on the simple idea of asking around twenty citizens to put forward proposals on digital sobriety to public institutions. 

In this way science has become part of public debate over the course of two years, at a rate of six sessions per convention. “We recruited scientists from all over France who we trained to facilitate these conventions. It wasn’t difficult to find volunteers because lots of researchers are keen to engage in this kind of interaction with civil society”, explains Françoise Berthoud, the project leader who also co-facilitated three citizens' conventions herself. In each region hosting a convention, an institution (a local authority, association or secondary school) presented its concerns about digital technology, the digital sobriety measures it had already set up within its institutional framework, and its own requests to citizens. Then, the citizens attending were asked to discuss these issues during working sessions facilitated by researchers. The main stakeholders only took part in the convention to introduce themselves and then hear the citizens’ proposals at the end. 

From one citizens’ convention to another   
The pilot project was run in the Grenoble metropolitan area. “We didn’t want to limit the debate on the impacts of digital technology to environmental issues alone, we wanted to broaden it to include its social and societal impacts”, explains Laurent Deslattes, digital policy officer for the local authorities in Grenoble. “The law allots two years for a roadmap to be drawn up. We had started working with over a hundred stakeholders which was when we exchanged with Françoise Berthoud. This format appealed to us, particularly because we had already run a citizens’ convention on climate change in the past”, he explains. The climate convention had been a success for the city so the authorities had already planned to draw on the recommendations made by the twenty or so citizen participants when drawing up its roadmap for the digital 'version'. “A local authority can't regulate digital practices, especially as many such practices take place in the private sphere”, admits Laurent Deslattes. However he remains convinced by the approach because “it can still set up collective framework”.

The Grenoble metropolitan area was a pioneer in setting up the scheme but other citizens’ assemblies have followed since. Laurent Eyraud-Chaume and Nathalie Rollo are in charge of managing the Resource Centre in Veynes which was the venue for another citizens’ assembly. The researchers Didier Mallarino (CNRS ) and Philippe Marquet (University of Lille) visited the Resource Centre in Veynes to invite the centre to take part. “When we were asked to join this initiative, it really resonated with us. In our area, the challenges of digital sobriety are often linked to those of the digital divide because some of our citizens are cut off from administrative procedures. Most of the participants know full well how digital technology can isolate people. However, this should also be an opportunity for us to ask ourselves how we can work together to make sure information flows effectively”, they explain. 

Changing personal habits

Damien Delacoux, one of the volunteers who took part in the Grenoble citizens’ assemblies, shares this view. “I do feel a bit like we’re being monopolised by the GAFAM. It’s quite simple – to access the digital identity app to log in to public services, you have to go via Google Play and that means you need a Gmail address. It’s similar with the Microsoft suite we use for daily tasks. What bothers me is having a tool I don't have any control over any more”, he explains. The citizens’ convention has transformed his daily digital habits and certainly convinced him. “I’ve left social media, I don't use mobile data when I’m out any more, I check my data when I connect to the Wi-Fi at home, and that’s it really. This experience forced me to think about the impact digital technology has on our lives and become more aware of it much quicker”.

From digital restraint to digital sovereignty

Other organisations that took part in a citizens’ convention have been luckier, as has been the case for Les Verdoyantes, a Grenoble-based collective of cultural institutions which secured €100,000 in funding in the framework of a call for projects from the Ademe. This money will enable the implementation of certain actions proposed during the convention sessions that were organised following the first initiative in the Grenoble metropolitan area. Jérôme Villeneuve, the collective’s director, explains that several questions about cultural organisations in the digital sphere remain to be dealt with. “Issues were brought up like archiving of our works, the influence of social media on our activities, or the management of the data we produce. Even the simplest flyer to publicise a show forces us to rely on dominant software like Photoshop in our communications, and so on. To avoid this kind of thing, citizens suggested approaches based on frugality and sharing such as artistic programmes focusing on alternative imaginaries to the all-digital world, or even rethinking communication in the city by reintroducing town criers in public spaces”. 

He goes on to explain that “the example of the systematic use of LEDs for stage lighting is an interesting case. This clearly cuts energy consumption, saves energy and means lighting can be controlled more precisely but it also requires massive investment in our infrastructure and professions, much more costly maintenance in the long term and also involves material and energy-related externalities. Also, we're dependent on Windows solutions for stage management and visitor services”, adding that the aim of this review is “to overhaul the entire distribution and communication chain so we no longer depend on the tech giants”. To achieve this, L’Hexagone, the local theatre, has already recruited a designer who is also a coder to transform the way this cultural organisation uses, compiles, disseminates and archives its own data. Thanks to this new approach, by September 2026 L’Hexagone hopes to be completely free of commercial software suites.

Science driving political debate

Indeed, many members of Les Verdoyantes currently use Microsoft 365, a paid solution that negates data sovereignty. “Our emails, conversations, calendars and files aren’t stored locally and we don’t even know where they end up. We’re considering pooling our computer resources, particularly our IT servers, which we’d like to become much more locally based and eco-managed. We need a server that hosts our data within France that's supported by open-source software environments”, the director also notes. Demonstration projects are to be rolled out in the coming months to address this issue. “We can't change our practices in six months so what we're proposing is to draw up a four-year roadmap”, suggest Les Verdoyantes. 

Beyond technical recommendations, the citizens' conventions initiative also provided the opportunity to highlight the crucial role democratic debate backed by science can play within society. “From our standpoint, the involvement of the CNRS and the Ademe was crucial. We needed to develop recommendations for our region based on scientific findings. To us, the CNRS seems perfectly placed to bring these regional issues to the forefront. We could also envisage similar participatory formats in the future on issues linked to housing, water or energy. This scientific and citizen-led approach means we can move beyond political battles, defuse conflicts, and break free from the local power games we've been trapped in for too long”, explain Laurent Eyraud-Chaume and Nathalie Rollo, who believe that “empowering citizens through knowledge has become essential” at a time when we are facing a crisis of expertise in public opinion. This view is shared by Françoise Berthoud. “Perhaps the most important aspect of this approach is that it has repoliticised these issues so, in that sense, the approach has been a success”, explains the engineer.