This article examines the role of cultural interest groups in the development of public policies and the relations they maintain with government in such a context. The analysis is based on a case study: the conflict between these interest groups and the government that erupted when it unveiled its first official languages action plan in 2003. Drawing on archival documents and interviews with the key protagonists in this conflict, the article exposes three tensions that characterize the activity of these interest groups: confusion between personal interest and public interest, ambiguous relations with the civil service and rivalry between the various interest groups. Thus, the article provides a critical perspective of the activity of interest groups in the cultural sector and a better understanding of their relations with members of the policy community within which they are active.