Cet article presente une analyse de la conference citoyenne sur les OGM organisee en France en 1998, centree sur l'experience du panel de citoyens. Il met en evidence le travail reflexif des membres du panel pour definir leur role par rapport aux experts et dans la prise de decision. L'examen de ce travail engendre une reflexion innovante sur la question de la representation. Nous suggerons qu'il s'agit la d'une forme de representation active, dont l'interet est de permettre l'exploration des aspects scientifiques, techniques et aspects sociaux, dans la perspective des citoyens ordinaires . C'est bien le caractere ordinaire des membres du panel qui compte car l'interet de l'operation est d'informer les politiques de ce que pensent ceux qui ne parlent pas et ne se sentent representes ni par les partis, ni par les syndicats, ni par les associations. L'article demontre comment le processus cognitif et le processus politique sont intrinsequement lies dans le travail du panel. A partir de cette analyse et de la discussion de certaines critiques adressees a cette conference, l'article aborde d'une part la question du lien entre ce type de dispositif et les mobilisations associatives et d'autre part, celle de son articulation avec l'action publique.
This article presents an analysis of the consensus conference on GMO's held in France in 1998. Centred on the experience of the citizen panel, it also discusses criticisms expressed by various actors in France about this conference, most of which related to the lack of representativeness of a panel of citizens with no prior knowledge or interest in the issue at stake. Our analysis of the deliberations and report of the panel reveals the reflexive endeavour undertaken by these citizens with respect to their own role and representativeness. We show how the members of the panel addressed, from the start, the issue of their role in relation to that of the experts and in the decision-making process; how they constructed their collective identity on the basis of their own definition of their role and how this in turn determined how they interacted with the experts and stakeholders invited to the public conference and the nature of their recommendations. We argue that the work conducted by the citizen panel inaugurates a new form of active representation, which is of a very different nature to representation by elected politicians and to ''figurative'' representation by professional institutions, trade unions and other non-governmental organisations. This novel form of representation enables the exploration of scientific and technical aspects together with social aspects, from the perspective of ''ordinary citizens''. It is indeed the ''ordinary'' character of the panel members that is relevant, because the essence of the operation is to inform decision-makers about the views of those who do not speak out and who do not feel represented by political parties, trade unions, or environmental and consumer NGOs. The article demonstrates how these cognitive and political processes were intrinsically intermeshed in the activities of the panel. The extent and nature of this socio-technical exploration was, however, constrained by some aspects of the consensus conference method itself and we discuss ways in which these could be overcome. On the basis of this analysis, the article addresses two more general issues: the relationship between this type of participatory technology assessment initiative and NGO mobilisations and the link with decision-making processes.