The Fight for the Larzac (Occitan: Luta del Larzac; French: Lutte du Larzac) refers to a non-violent civil disobedience action by farmers resisting the extension of a military base on the Larzac plateau in South Western France. The action lasted from 1971 to 1981 and ended in victory for the resistance movement when the new President François Mitterrand abandoned the project. The base, used for training French soldiers, was originally established in 1902 on 3,000 ha (7,400 acres; 12 sq mi) of uncultivated heathland. Michel Debré, Minister of Defence in the Georges Pompidou administration, announced that the base would be extended to 13,700 ha (34,000 acres; 53 sq mi) and that the land would be expropriated in the public interest. An initial informal resistance movement was formed by 103 landowners whose land was subject to expropriation. In 1973 their cause was taken up by a much larger group of heterogeneous activists, predominantly left wing, and numbering up to 100,000. This activist group descended on the Larzac in support of the peasant landowners and extended the protest to a more general action against what they saw as the militarism of the Pompidou government. This action, once it had achieved its focal aims on the Larzac, was the core of what then became the Anti-Globalism movement and also served to bring to public attention leaders such as Lanza del Vasto, José Bové, and the late Guy Tarlier.

On 11 October 1970, during a session of the Union des démocrates pour la république (UDR) (Union of democrats for the Republic), André Fanton, secretary of state for defence, gave the first hint that the base would need to be extended. Le Monde of 6 March 1971 quoted Deputy Delmas, then campaigning for election to UDR, as saying "The extension of the military base is doubtless the last chance for survival of the town of Millau." Millau (IPA: [mijo],) at the Northern edge of the Larzac plateau, is today world-famous for its spectacular viaduct over the river Tarn. In 1971 it was chiefly known to French families for its sheepskin glove industry in decline and its infuriating traffic jams. Popular resistance to the proposal for the military base was immediately evident. On 28 October 1971, Defence Minister Michel Debré made the formal announcement in a televised interview. The base was to be extended from 3,000 to 17,000 hectares (30 to 170 square kilometers). Land would be expropriated from 107 farms in 12 communes around on the small town of La Cavalerie. The extended base would form one sixth of the total area (100,000 hectares) of the Larzac itself. In subsequent commentary, Debré pointed out that the project would be "not only vital to the national defence" but would have "a positive impact" on the region. He cited improvement of the rural electrical distribution system, water supply and roads. He stated that the extension was necessitated by saturation of French military bases in general and the need to maintain a military force in proximity to the Plateau d'Albion, launch site of ground-ground ballistic nuclear missiles which formed an important element of the French nuclear deterrent.

It was argued by the authorities that the Larzac plateau was sparsely populated, having been substantially depopulated by the so-called "rural exodus", losing two thirds of its population between 1866 and 1968, although since 1968 population had begun to increase due to the "neo-rural" movement. Sheep herders and producers of Roquefort cheese, the most famous product of the region, denied that the project would be a net boost for employment because, as a training camp, it would attract only temporary inhabitants. They were also sceptical of the promised economic benefits.

André Fanton made his attitude clear in a public speech:

Whether we like it or not, the potential agricultural riches of the Larzac are extremely weak. So I think it was logical to consider that the extension would cause only minimum inconvenience... It is true that there are a few peasants ... who desultorily raise a few sheep, while living the life of the Middle Ages. It is necessary to take their land.

The first notable demonstration took place on 6 November 1971 at Millau. Some 6,000 people assembled in the Place du Mandarous. At this point the movement was still local but it attracted a fairly wide spectrum of participants. The core group were members of long-established and deeply rooted peasant families but there were also many younger farming families, new to the area and in considerable debt to the Crédit Agricole bank which had financed their acquisition and exploitation of land. Many of these relative newcomers belonged to the quasi-religious organisation Jeunesse Agricole Catholique (Young Catholic Farmers). Institutional religion was influential in reconciling the many divergent views at this point. Notably, on 7 November 1971 the bishop of Rodez (the Departmental seat of government) announced his opposition to the base extension.

There was sufficient unanimity, at any rate, for 103 of the 107 people potentially threatened with expropriation to sign a formal contract on 28 March 1972. The contract expressed solidarity and declared that not a single farmer would be dispossessed against his will. This was the "Oath of the 103".

A further demonstration took place the following 14 July, the national holiday, in Rodez. 20,000 people and 70 tractors participated. The slogan GARDAREM LO LARZAC began to appear all across the region. It means, loosely, THE LARZAC IS OURS, and significantly it's written in Occitan, the original language of Languedoc which is not used commercially but is cherished by a militant minority.