This article proposes to analyze the success of a mobilization that had all the bearings of being highly unlikely – that of the Intermittents du spectacle in France. These contract workers from the live entertainment sector succeeded in overcoming various obstacles and, more importantly, in turning a supposed weakness into a strength. On the one hand, the intermittents availed of key (financial, cultural and political) resources and established social networks that allowed them to initiate collective action. On the other, the intermittents found a way to organize and to act collectively (in co-ordination) despite the fact that they came from very diverse backgrounds.