The Politics of French Trade Unionism

An examination of the relationship between French trade union confederations and the political parties of the Union of the Left. In spite of self-proclaimed autonomy, the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT), the Confederation Francaise Democratique du Travail (CFDT), the Parti-Communiste Francaise (PCF) and the Parti Socialiste (PS) have established specific patterns of convergence based on functional differentiation and personnel overlap, which have significant consequences for French politics, trade unionism and industrial relations. This book investigates the activity of the trade unions in the political sphere, and more specifically their participation in electoral process. Secondly, it analyzes the relations between the two trade union confederations and also the relations between the leadership and the grassroots within each confederation. Thirdly, it examines the consequences of party-union relations for aspects of the industrial sphere, for strikes and collective bargaining.
Through a study of these issues, it is shown that party-union convergence has led to a degree of politicization of trade union activity which has only been partly tempered by the demands of the industrial sphere.