This paper deals with technical translation from a pragmatic point of view. It focuses on specific difficulties, taking as an example the translation of English texts into French. After an introduction to technical texts, the specifics of their translation will be dealt with. Seven major difficulties associated with the translation of such texts from English into French will be tackled using an empirical approach: 1) the reader's lack of implicit knowledge, 2) the elusive micro-relationships between words, 3) the reader's inability to identify “sub-units” (parsing), 4) numbers and units, 5) terminology, and 6) the weaknesses of the original. The paper will end with a discussion of the special status of technical translation and of the particular scope for freedom associated with it.