French public accepted germ theory faster than doctors did.

Evidence

According to Moulin, French society at large was much more easily “pasteurized”-that is to say, accepting of the existence of dangerous microbes that had to be combated-than the medical community itself, which had to confront in Pasteur’s doctrines a revision of its theories as well as its practices. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1005

French society at large was much more easily “pasteurized”-that is to say, accepting of the existence of dangerous microbes that had to be combated-than the medical community itself, which had to confront in Pasteur’s doctrines a revision of its theories as well as its practices. This view is an important corrective to the more sweeping claims made by Latour, Leonard, and Salomon-Bayet et al. about the “Pasteurization of France” in this period. Moulin’s findings nevertheless confirm that the germ theory of disease entered popular culture and political discourse quite rapidly in late-nineteenth-century France. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1005

Categorization

• DEEPTHINKING: Not quite top-tier - the reversibility of expertise ahead of public acceptance is interesting but a fairly familiar sociology-of-science theme.
• QUESTION: Why would laypeople accept germ theory faster than doctors, who had the most exposure? Possibly because doctors had more epistemic investment in older models.
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 1005