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This article is based on a fieldwork in France (Eastern Pyrenees) where the project of an extra high voltage line, aiming at connecting the French and Spanish networks, generated a conflict between the local population, the project promoters and the political authorities. After 10 years, this conflict ended in the realization of the EHV line on new bases, collectively redefined. Therefore, it appears as a perfect illustration of participative democracy, the final decision having been elaborated with a wide collaboration of various participants, taking into account local realities. But this relative success is due to the fact that the conflict attempted only to consider technical issues, and had to leave aside all the social and political dimensions of the project. We wonder if it is not related to its specific nature, and if the new participatory process is subject to the same rules when the future of the global energy system is at stake.