Revolutionary Rupture and Reconstruction

The French Revolution of 1789 destroyed the guild system in a matter of months. The Le Chapelier Law of 1791 banned all forms of worker associations, viewing them as impediments to individual liberty and economic progress. This radical break with the past created a paradox: the Revolution proclaimed the rights of man while stripping workers of collective protections they had enjoyed for centuries.

The revolutionary period witnessed France's first modern labor conflicts. With guilds abolished but industrial capitalism not yet established, workers found themselves in a precarious position. The sans-culottes—urban workers who wore long trousers instead of the knee-breeches of the aristocracy—became a powerful political force, demanding not just political rights but economic justice. Their slogan, "Liberty, Equality, Fraternity," implicitly included economic dimensions that continue to resonate in French political discourse.

The Revolution also introduced concepts that would profoundly shape French work culture. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen proclaimed that "all citizens, being equal in the eyes of the law, are equally eligible to all dignities and to all public positions and occupations, according to their abilities." This meritocratic ideal, however imperfectly realized, became a cornerstone of French republicanism. The notion that talent and effort, not birth or wealth, should determine success remains powerful in French society.

Perhaps most importantly, the Revolution established the principle of popular sovereignty—the idea that legitimate authority derives from the people, not from tradition or divine right. When applied to the workplace, this principle suggests that workers have inherent rights that no employer or government can legitimately violate. The French tendency to see strikes and protests as exercises in democracy rather than disruptions to order stems from this revolutionary heritage.