Un espace sans conflit? Structures de pouvoir et path dependencies autour du lac d’Émosson, 1953–1975

The launch of the Lac d'Emosson hydropower dam in the Trient Valley of Valais in 1975 met with hardly any critics within Swiss media against this second-largest storage lake in the country. Indeed, the community of Finhaut had voluntarily granted the concession for the dam, agreeing to give up its pasture with the summer settlement on it. This last resettlement action in the Swiss Alps is remarkable in that the 1970s are known as a decade of strong nature and heritage protection movements as well as a transitional phase from hydro- to nuclear energy. What kind of site-related factors, power structures and path dependencies made this dam possible without meeting any resistance? The article explores this question, by also reflecting on the circumstances under which hydraulic engineering in Switzerland went hand in hand with varying degrees of protest over the past century.