ABSTRACT
Located, predominantly, within the departement of Aveyron in the southern Massif Central, the Larzac is a causse, a limestone plateau which rises close to a thousand metres. Since the 1880s, the Larzac's economy, and that of surrounding rural areas, has been dominated by the production of ewes' milk for the Roquefort cheese firms. Roquefort still forms the backbone of the local economy, although over-production and the imposition of milk quotas have resulted in a certain agricultural diversification on the Larzac. Protest activity on the Larzac has its immediate historical roots in the decade-long struggle, beginning at the end of 1970, against government plans to extend the military camp on the plateau. The plateau's northern end lies 450 metres above Millau, a town of just over 20,000, and the whole plateau is roughly 20 km wide and 30 long. Since the 1970s, there has been an important population of people aiming to live in accord with 'higher' principles.
