The Landscape of French Unionism

Unlike the industrial or craft-based unions common in Anglo-Saxon countries, French unions organize along ideological lines. This peculiarity, rooted in the political nature of French labor consciousness, creates a complex ecosystem where multiple unions compete within single workplaces, each offering different visions of society alongside bread-and-butter representation.

The Confédération Générale du Travail (CGT), historically communist-affiliated though now independent, remains France's largest union with about 650,000 members. Founded in 1895, it embodies the revolutionary tradition of French syndicalism. Walk into any CGT office and you'll find portraits of past struggles, red flags, and rhetoric about class conflict that seems frozen in time yet remains powerfully relevant to many workers.

The Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT), with roughly 600,000 members, represents the reformist tradition. Born from Catholic unions that secularized in 1964, the CFDT embraces negotiation over confrontation, proposing "syndicalisme de proposition" (propositional unionism) that seeks concrete improvements within capitalism rather than its overthrow.

Force Ouvrière (FO), created in 1948 by CGT dissidents rejecting communist influence, charts a middle course—militant on workplace issues but firmly republican and secular. The Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens (CFTC) maintains explicit Christian identity, while the Confédération Française de l'Encadrement-CGC represents managers and professionals, a uniquely French recognition that even executives need collective representation.