Résumé
This paper traces the history of the terms of ownership and management of water in the semi-arid region of Kairouan (central Tunisia). Based on the archives of the hydraulic services of the Protectorate, the authors examine the role of colonial policies and legal and administrative instruments produced in the field of water management. The colonial water policy met a social resistance; it resulted in conflicts between former and new use rights, as reflected in the high number and variety of disputes, litigation and judgments. The analysis of these conflicts is carried out in terms of the concept of "dispossession" in the case of El Haouareb, on perennial waters of Wadi Merguellil (1891). After describing the context of the analysis (colonial policies, region of Kairouan and materials analyzed), the second part of the paper presents the "case" of the colonize Malcor as an illustration of the issues and processes related to these legal developments