Confronted with the withdrawal of the State. The territorial value of political resources in mobilizations for public services

Based on a qualitative investigation focused on two mobilizations in defense of public hospital services in the East of France, this article explores the dynamics of resistance that governed people deploy when confronted with the withdrawal of the State. The specificity of these movements for local public services lies in their ambivalence towards politics: They are built around a claim of “neutrality” which keeps them at a distance from political organizations (unions, parties) but at the same time they are situated in a political register of protest against the withdrawal of the social state and public services. The political “neutrality” that they claim places them in a double bind: while it is an indispensable argument for encouraging the participation of as many people as possible, it prevents them from having any influence beyond a very limited territory. Their chances of success then depend heavily on social and political resources they can mobilize against public authorities and on their ability to adapt them to each territorial configuration.