The movement to challenge the environmental impacts of dams emerged in the 1970s, particularly in the United States. In France, the ideas in favour of the dismantling of dams and “free rivers” had their first major successes at the end of the 1980s with the “Loire Vivante” campaign.

As early as 1996, France dismantled 3 large dams with a strong impact on migratory fish. The examples presented below concern cases in which SOS Loire Vivante – ERN France was strongly involved in their removal.