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From the 1974 “Berg letter” to the petitions “Défendons la recherche” and “Ouvrons la recherche” in 2003, biologists have often alerted – and been challenged in – the public arena regarding the risks and stakes of genetic engineering. The paper first compares the scientists’public commitment on GMOs in the 1970’s and in recent years. Around 1975, a short-lasting GM controversy arose from the mobilization of young committed biologists. In sharp contrast to this proactive commitment, most of the seven petitions signed by scientists after 1996 were rather reactive and instigated by destructions of GM field trials. These results are discussed in the wider context of change in the scientists’public commitment since 1968. Among the 3217 signatories of these petitions, a correlation is shown between disciplinary affiliation and public opinion expressed on GM crops. The paper finally shows how the trajectory of the French GM controversy in public arenas has co-evolved with the competition between three epistemic cultures (molecular biology, population biology and farming systems agronomy) in framing GMO risks and biosafety.