There have been few studies to date on how French researchers are using electronic journals in their work. Under a national program for document digitization in higher education and research, a qualitative study was conducted recently at the Jussieu Campus in Paris, with 25 researchers and doctoral students and 9 documentalists. The main disciplines covered were Physics, Chemistry and Biology, with some representatives from Mathematics, Computer Science and Earth Sciences. A user typology was built up, and several of the findings agree substantially with those in the (mainly Anglo-Saxon) literature, which demonstrate the importance of factors such as the discipline concerned and the immediate working environment of researchers, including equipment, local practice, and the resources that are promoted or made available. Other more subjective factors also need to be taken into account.