The place that livestock farming holds in society is subject to question. This seems like a particularly opportune moment to re‐examine its place and future direction in the Mediterranean region, building in a multifunctional approach to the activity at regional level. Several features of Mediterranean livestock farming underscore the challenges of multifunctionality. It is an activity with strong links to the identity of those working in livestock farming and of the landscapes and regions (Blondel, 2006). Its substantial pastoral component involves a variety of regional landscapes (cultivated areas, rangeland, forests, mountain meadows, etc.), often going beyond the strict scope of land appropriated for farming to include public spaces or areas used for multiple purposes (Garde et al,2014). Recent reforms to the Common Agricultural Policy have seen these often implicit multifunctional dimensions make their way back onto the European political agenda, particularly in France (Bazin G., 2003). This paper analyses the conditions for and forms of development of pastoral livestock farming in the Provence‐Alpes–Côte d’Azur region of France over the last 30 years in relation to public support policies and in light of the expectations of local stakeholders in upland areas of the Southern Alps.