Despite initial cooperation, the offshore wind farm in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc (France) has faced strong opposition from professional fishermen. Reflecting on 20 years of a collaborative and conflictual journey, we analyze the shift towards conflict while highlighting turning points and their determining factors. At stake is the localization of an innovative technology and of a general interest : this process is analyzed using the economics of proximities and the actor-network theory. This study prompts us to discuss the concept of social acceptance and the acceptance scales proposed in the literature, particularly considering the potential boomerang effect of appropriation, usually presented as the highest level of acceptance. We also emphasize that, since such a project is subject to multiple eco-socio-technical uncertainties, acceptance is constantly being tested : acceptance is therefore marked by the central role of trust and organized proximities to be built, activable to overcome the tests of acceptability.

Despite initial cooperation, the offshore wind farm in the Bay of Saint-Brieuc (France) has faced strong opposition from professional fishermen. Reflecting on 20 years of a collaborative and conflictual journey, we analyze the shift towards conflict while highlighting turning points and their determining factors. At stake is the localization of an innovative technology and of a general interest : this process is analyzed using the economics of proximities and the actor-network theory. This study prompts us to discuss the concept of social acceptance and the acceptance scales proposed in the literature, particularly considering the potential boomerang effect of appropriation, usually presented as the highest level of acceptance. We also emphasize that, since such a project is subject to multiple eco-socio-technical uncertainties, acceptance is constantly being tested : acceptance is therefore marked by the central role of trust and organized proximities to be built, activable to overcome the tests of acceptability.