Agroecology as a new frame of reference for French agricultural policy? Insights from a lexicometric analysis of policy documents

References to agroecology have gradually started appearing in national and international public policies. We examine the extent to which agroecology is becoming a frame of reference for public action in the French national and regional context. Using textual statistics, we analyzed institutional documents concerning agroecology put out by public policy actors between 2008 and the summer of 2021, and conducted interviews with key actors of the Agroecological Project for France (PAEF, Projet Agroécologique pour la France). Our analysis shows that agroecology invoked in framing texts is reclassified in the vocabulary of triple performance, dominated by the notion of economic performance. A comparative analysis of the national and regional texts reveals mismatches, especially in terms of the level of autonomy of the actors concerned, and in the processes of knowledge transfer and support for changes in agricultural practices.