We start from a conception of referents as cognitive entities which are the interpretants of linguistic designators. The referential value of French clitic pronouns appears subject to variation. They concurrently mark either the characteristik [±determined] of their referent (i.e. whether it has been categorized and particularized or not), or its feature [±animated]. The use of a pronoun is more or less optimal depending on whether it denotes in accordance with its value on these two axes, or only on one of them. Furthermore, there can be a discrepancy between the features attributed to a referent by a clitic pronoun and by a co-referential NP, which produces two kinds of interpretative effects: the splitting of the referent (non-discrete object), or its de-personification.