In the context of a proliferation of online political petitions and the apparent trivialization of their use, this article examines the functioning of one of them, initiated on 15 April 2009 by Michel Vauzelle, Deputy and President of a Region. In certain respects this petition is representative of online petitions and highlights their regularities; in others it is 'noteworthy'? and emphasizes their distinctive characteristics. The authors first situate it in relation to comparable initiatives (both quantitatively and with regard to the signatories' characteristics), then analyse its socio-technical mechanism and, finally, consider its use.