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The article gives a historical overview of the creation, in the form of a ministry, of a department for environmental and then sustainable development affairs in France, from 1971 onwards. It particularly seeks to show how the administrative set-up has reflected the major public policy shift in the field in question : from environmental protection limited to the creation of sanctuaries in certain areas and efforts to tackle major pollution, to a sustainable development policy that seeks to integrate environmental concerns into organisation of industrial and even general economic activities.