« Quand la terre tremble, la démocratie s’éveille »

‘Research has focused on debates surrounding wind turbines and photovoltaics, but the literature is more discreet on underground technologies.’

An article from the SESAME project on the socio-technical challenges of geological CO₂ storage in France, based in particular on the work of Xavier Arnauld de Sartre, has just been published in the journal Ébullitions. This is an online and print journal created by the University of Pau and Pays de l’Adour (UPPA) which aims to disseminate scientific work in a format accessible to the general public, using editorial illustrations and comic strips.

Entitled ‘When the earth trembles, democracy awakens’, this article was published online on 16 December 2025. It examines the role of the subsurface in the energy transition, and in particular how it is used in technical projects such as geological CO₂ storage.

While knowledge about the subsoil often remains confined to technical and industrial circles, the article shows how seismic events, whether natural or induced, contribute to broadening the debate. These events highlight issues that were previously rarely discussed publicly and encourage greater mobilisation among local stakeholders, who are keen to better understand and control the uses of the subsoil.

The article thus highlights a shift in democratic expectations around these issues, opening up the debate towards more inclusive governance and even the recognition of the subsoil as a territorial common good.

Access the article “Quand la terre tremble, la démocratie s’éveille”

A comic strip to extend the reflection

In keeping with Ébullitions’ editorial approach, the article is accompanied by an original comic strip featuring the adventures of Leoccia Cenis (an anagram of ‘social sciences’), a social sciences researcher investigating energy transition. This comic strip offers a complementary and accessible approach to the issues raised, helping to renew the forms of scientific mediation.