For the apparition of P/Halley the CNRS set up RCP639 (Cooperative Research Programme), one part of which was to coordinate French amateur work. This carried out a training programme, at first by publishing (with help from ESO) an observational manual (eds: J.L. Heudier, J.C. Merlin and M. Festou), and then by a series of courses covering astrometry, photography, visual magnitude estimation, and drawing of jets. These courses were provided by J.L. Heudier, J.C. Merlin and T. Laverge, and were taken by about 100 observers. The author was asked to undertake the organization of the section so that it might become a permanent network of observers of comets and minor bodies.