ABSTRACT
In France, defense policy in general and armament programs in particular have largely escaped the attention of social science research. This chapter presents a case that allows people to analyze the sociological dynamics that drive armament policy in France. The case of the symbolically charged and highly controversial Leclerc main battle tank is symbolically charged and highly controversial Leclerc main battle tank, the "best tank in world". The chapter discusses the emergence of coalitions made up of actors with very different interests and action logics, federated not around an interest but a set of ideas. This observation leads to the heart of the author's analysis of this case. The chapter also presents a sociological analysis of elites that allows us to analyze the logic of collective action as it was put in place around a project like the Leclerc.
