Evolution of Commons-Based Legal Thinking in France Since 2020
Discussion
Yovan Gilles:
"On the evolution of commons-based law thinking in France:
"Five years ago, France experienced its first lockdown in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, it was an opportunity to reflect on essential questions, such as what gives meaning to our lives, and to develop ideas about the necessary social, economic, and political transformations for a sustainable world. This period saw a surge in proposals for the “post-pandemic world,” with a recurring emphasis on the notions of the common good and the commons.
As soon as the restrictions on social organization were lifted, discussions, conferences, reports, and policy initiatives emerged, all advocating for the recognition and protection of commons and shared resources.
In 2021, the
- report L’échelle de communalité – Propositions de réforme pour intégrer les biens communs en droit
(The Scale of Commonality – Reform Proposals for Integrating Commons into Law),
submitted to the Droit et Justice research mission, aimed to “reveal, assess, and strengthen the degree of ‘commonality’ in certain legal frameworks around goods or resources.” It proposed various legal reforms, including new interpretations of existing laws, amendments to current provisions, and the introduction of entirely new legal articles.
In spring 2023, the Paris Institute for Advanced Study launched a conference series titled “Common Good(s): Paths of Hope in the Face of 21st-Century Challenges.” The second conference in particular asked: Is the Common Good the Legal Key to the World of Tomorrow?
Meanwhile, the University of the Common Good in Paris (UBC Paris) — now hosted at the Climate Academy — continued its inquiry into the rights of commons and shared resources, a discussion it has pursued since its founding in 2017.
Various approaches were explored, including:
- The commons through the lens of the rights of nature,
- Forests and oceans as global public commons,
- Diplomacy for commons and the living world.
In July 2024, UBC Paris launched an appeal to French lawmakers to reintroduce the legal status of commons into parliamentary debate. Building on this initiative, it organized a debate in December 2024 on the constitutional recognition of commons, which highlighted the complexity of integrating commons and shared resources into French law, particularly in relation to the Constitution.
In March 2025, Luigi de Magistris, initiator of The Commons Revolution in Naples, shared his experience. He demonstrated that by referring to the Constitution—the highest legal authority in a nation—commons can be legally established and sustained, provided they rest on a solid constitutional foundation. At the same time, he did not shy away from acknowledging the challenges faced in making this vision a reality."