The article retraces the intellectual, institutional and political configurations in which pragmatism was received in France in the 1900s, bringing to light what was at issue in receiving this philosophical approach ; for pragmatism sparked lively debates whose content is not very well known, debates that affected both rationalism and Durkheimianism. It is hoped that his historical perspective will provide some general guidelines for reflecting on what makes the international circulation of ideas possible and how ideas circulate.