This paper presents the French debates of the last decade on open access to scientific publications. Its first aim is to clarify some points in these debates, by distinguishing between various ways of putting papers online (is it done by the author and/or the journal? on a personal website, in an open archive, on a specialized portal?) and by presenting several possible economic models, namely subscriptions, article-processing charges, and the consortial (or freemium) model. The second aim of the paper is to defend open access publication in the humanities and social sciences. France is in fact one of the leading countries in this respect, as most journals provide open access to their papers to the wider public (not just academic audiences) after a few years, if not immediately. The author emphasizes the benefits of reaching such a wider audience, both for the authors and for the journals.