ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the Ligue Sociale d'Acheteurs (LSA) in France and its relationship to American consumers' leagues. The chapter investigates whether or not the creation of the French Ligue was modelled on the American consumers' leagues. It describes the nature of the relationships between the promoters of the American consumers' leagues and the French ligueurs. The chapter explains the courses of action they chose. It also inquires into the extent of the contribution of consumers' leagues to the emergence of consumer expertise. It is certainly true that terms such as 'expert' and 'expertise' were absent from the reformers' vocabulary at the beginning of the twentieth century. Nevertheless, such a notion, although somewhat vague, has the advantage of allowing us to describe the different kinds of knowledge and know-how which were being developed and debated at the beginning of the century in relation to reform practices and the controls exercised by sponsors such as the state.
