The new French Agricultural Law passed in 1999 confirms the government's determination to acknowledge the multifunctional role of agriculture and to subject the granting of an increasing proportion of public financial transfers to respect of environmental and employment objectives. These new orientations pose questions regarding the growing mismatch between the changing activity situations of individuals and the reference model that still grounds the different legal frameworks (civil, social, fiscal...) which serve to define the status of people exercising an agricultural activity.
