Hunting’s Worker-activists

To understand the complexity of political attitudes in working class environments in today’s world, a period marked by a weakening of organizations representing the working classes, it is productive to go through the observation of social practices that do not appear to be directly linked to politics, such as activities related to leisure. Through a survey of a group of hunters, most of whom are employed in industry, this article analyzes the transition to collective action by individuals who are usually excluded from the political scene. By doing so, the paper shows how new European Union (EU) regulations are leading to the politicization of a social activity. The ethnographic approach makes it possible to shed greater light on certain aspects, both practical and symbolic, of the working class’s relationship to politics. Highlighting elements of permanence and transformation of a certain working-class source of conflict leads in particular to qualifying the image of a massive demobilization of these environments.