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Contracts between Indigenous Peoples and Europeans produced legal effects. A question emanates from this conclusion: in what legal category should we classify such contracts? The treaty signed on July 12th, 1884, between two German commercial firms and two Indigenous chiefs of the coast of Cameroon keeps this curiosity alive. At the very least, it serves as a pendant to international public law as well as constitutional law in Cameroon. On the one hand, it establishes, through the correlation between the “ability to act and international personality”, the international law subject classification of the aforementioned actors and, therefore, allows for a reconsideration of the Indigenous Peoples question proclaimed in Cameroon's constitutional order in 1996. On the other hand, the 1884 treaty puts into perspective the notions of sovereignty and territory that were mobilized by the “colonial legality”, during the international administration of the country and later by “constitutional decolonization law”. This dual aspect, subjective and objective, demonstrates the power relations that have presided over the formation of contracts in the timeless legal order and, starting from our research topic, presents relational international law as indebted towards the egalitarian ethic that it is intended to promote.

This article examines the presence of hospitality as a significant theme in four French Revolutionary novels of emigration written by three major female authors of that time, Isabelle de Charrière, Claire de Duras and Stéphanie de Genlis. It aims to highlight the multiple facets of the concept of hospitality in these novels and to demonstrate that beyond its traditional meaning, hospitality operates too in political, social and ethical realms: 1) it becomes the pivot of an introspective reflection: a critical look at the conventions and social practices of the French nobility, 2) it reflects a political thought: tensions between condemnation and loyalty to the Old Regime system, and between adherence to and suspicion of republican ideals, 3) last but not least, it opens a path to a feminist approach through situations that stage relationships of help and care by émigré women for émigré women. The reading angle that I propose in the article confirms the originality of these novels that link emigration and hospitality by evoking the potentiality of new situations, no matter how painful they may be: flexibility, emancipation, adaptation, openness, sharing and care are key themes that recur in the narratives to underline the transformative power of mutual support, responsibility and trust between women.

Keywords: Conseil général-assemblée, séances ordinaire et extraordinaire, attributions et compétences, constitution, conseil privé, conseillers coloniaux, avis, voeux

ABSTRACTSeven great Catholic merchants trading with New France in the reign of Louis XIV sent many ships across the Atlantic, and their importance in this trade suggests that the Huguenot merchants were sending fewer and fewer. The role of big Huguenot shipping merchants in this period is sometimes exaggerated; it was probably reduced as a result of persecution. Men of humble origin, the seven merchants in question had the benefit of five factors: advantageous marriages, strong business or personal relationships in Canada usually resulting from visits there, close relations in the Church, or with colonial officials (in one case, at least), and wartime opportunities. The religious conflict in the wars of 1689-1713 made the French government wary of Huguenot merchants and so improved the chances of Catholic merchants, even humble ones. Unfortunately for them, however, they suffered losses usual in the Bourbon monarchy, losses due to the government's failure to pay its debts.

AbstractIn this work we present a case study of the multi-scale calibration and validation of MHYDAS-Erosion applied to a Mediterranean vineyard. The calibration was performed using expert knowledge in linking physical parameters to land uses with the automatic parameter estimation software PEST. MHYDAS-Erosion was calibrated and validated using spatially distributed observations on total discharge and soil loss. Calibration has been performed within six rainfall events; both hydrological and erosion parameters were calibrated using RMSE, R2 and the modified version of the Nash-Sutcliffe model efficiency criteria. Calibration results indicate there was good agreement between simulated and observed total discharge and total soil loss at the seven observation points (modified Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (mNSE) ranging between 0.89 and 0.95). Acceptable results were obtained in terms of parameter values, identification of their physical meaning and coherence. However, some limitations were also identified, and could be remedied in more detailed studies involving (i) spatially-distributed rainfall on the catchment, (ii) a description of groundwater exfiltration and (iii) spatially-distributed properties of the ditches over the catchment. Validation results were quite satisfactory for three of the four validation events. The results from this case study suggest that MHYDAS-Erosion may need a specific calibration when applied to another catchment, but once it is calibrated, it could be used for multi-scale soil loss forecasting.

Keywords: erosion modelling, soil loss, hydrological processes, calibration and validation, PEST, MHYDAS-Erosion, érosion hydrique, modélisation de l'érosion, hydrologie, calage et validation, PEST, MHYDAS-Erosion

AbstractThis article presents the different responses France has taken in face of various abuses committed by members of certain cultic groups sectarian groups. Following a historical and a descriptive methodology, the evolution of the French approach is presented and discussed with a view of analysing which French laws have been used by magistrates against cultic groups as well as which laws are likely to be used with an aim of showing how French law can and is used. Finally, the modulations of France's response to cultic abuse are presented and discussed.

Until the 1980s, the Rhone was managed by an alliance between senior state officials and industrial actors, without any special consideration for the environment. The governance of the river afterward tends to be fragmented between both sectors and territories (actors in the hydroelectric industry, tourism, environment, navigation, local authorities, etc.). Surprisingly enough with regard to the Rhône governance trajectory and its current fragmentation, there is today a broad agreement on the idea of ecological restoration. Analyzing ecological restoration as a policy narrative, this paper seeks to understand how this agreement has emerged and tries at the same time to characterize its very nature. For this purpose, it mobilizes elements of Michel Callon's sociology of translation in support of the discursive analysis.

Keywords: restauration écologique, récit d'action publique, traduction, Rhône, France, ecological restoration, policy narrative, translation, Rhône, France