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The relationship between social science and social action was a key issue in the constitution of the sociological discipline amongst Durkheimian sociologists. Thus, despite the fact that when it was set up the International Labour Office was the focus of particular sociological involvement on the part of Durkheim’s intellectual heirs, several Durkheimians decided they would not work there. Drawing on an examination of the reasons why François Simiand distanced himself from the work of the organization between 1920 and 1930, and a review of his methodology, this article helps to distinguish two divergent sociological paths during the interwar period: a scientific Durkheimianism and a Durkheimianism of action.