1995: Defending the Social Model

The November-December 1995 strikes demonstrated French workers' determination to defend their social model against neoliberal reforms. Prime Minister Alain Juppé's plan to reform public sector pensions and social security triggered massive resistance. For three weeks, France was virtually paralyzed as transport workers, joined by teachers, postal workers, and others, shut down the country.

Unlike the revolutionary rhetoric of 1968, 1995's strikers defended existing rights rather than demanding new ones. Yet their action resonated broadly. Opinion polls showed majority support despite massive inconvenience. Parisians walked hours to work, often in freezing weather, yet expressed solidarity with strikers.

The strikes' intellectual dimension distinguished them from simple industrial action. Pierre Bourdieu and other prominent intellectuals supported the movement, framing it as resistance to global capitalism. The journal "Raisons d'agir" (Reasons to Act) connected workplace struggles to broader critiques of neoliberalism.

Juppé's complete capitulation—withdrawing the pension reform—demonstrated that French workers could still veto government policy through direct action. This victory reinforced the strike as a legitimate political tool, encouraging future resistance to unpopular reforms.