This paper addresses a classic modal problem in French linguistics: the subjunctive-indicative variation in subordinate clauses in que p, notably when governed by the verb proposer in an explicative and non-volitional context. This use could at first sight seem rather recent. However, the paper shows that it has indeed existed in previous times, at least up to the 17^th century. On the basis of a large data corpus – the database Frantext paired with Google findings – the authors analyse some thirty recent occurrences of proposer que p in a non-volitional context, confronting them with established and recent explicative global theories of subjunctive-indicative variation.