Implementing the European Commission’s recommendation on open access to scientific publications in France presents many challenges, especially for the small, always at risk, niche publishers of French-language journals in humanities and social sciences (SSH). This article presents the results of a study conducted by the portal Cairn.info and IDATE Consulting, that attempts to assess the possible consequences of measures considered (in December 2015) by the French government for these journals and their publishers – specifically, the author’s prerogative to distribute freely and widely any article resulting from publicly funded research, twelve months after its publication, whatever the contract he may have signed with the publishing firm or the journal may stipulate. The study begins with an update on the current situation of French-language SSH journals and goes on to consider the impact of this measure by distinguishing between two scenarios: when freedom of distribution is given individually to each researcher, and when an open access mandate is set up at the level of the institutions. Finally, the paper evaluates the possible costs of a third option: a “Platinum” model where governmental organizations and/or public institutions provide upstream funding for an author’s publications prior to the editing process. The impact of such a model is considered and questioned in terms of scope, sustainability, distribution of funding and independence of the journals.