EUROPEAN TRADE UNION DIALOGUE TRADE UNIONS AND RIGHT-WING POPULISM IN EUROPE Country Study France Michel Noblecourt February 2023 FRAMEWORK CONDITIONS OF THE TRADE UNIONS IN FRANCE The French trade union landscape is characterised by its fragmentation into eight competing confedera­tions of various sizes, each representing different ide­ological and strategic positions. According to trade union figures, they have a combined membership of almost three million(including both workers and pensioners). According to the Ministry of Labour, 10.3 per cent of employees are organised(7.8 per cent in the private sector, 18.4 per cent in the public sector and state enterprises). These statistics show mem­bership today to be 0.7 per cent less than it was in 2016 and put France as one of the European countries with the lowest level of union membership. Five major confederations are recognised as having the power to negotiate and with which state and employers’ or­ganisations can join in agreements at the national, occupational, and sectoral levels: Confédération fran­çaise démocratique du travail (CFDT; French Demo­cratic Confederation of Labour); Confédération géné­rale du travail (CGT; General Confederation of La­bour); Force ouvrière (FO; Worker’s Force); Confédéra­tion française de l’encadrement – Confédération générale des cadres (CFE-CGC; French Confederation of Man­agement – General Confederation of Executives); and Confédération française des travailleurs chrétiens (CFTC; French Confederations of Christian Workers). These organisations are also represented in most sectors and fare the best in company worker representation elections. Other relevant federations include the Un­ion nationale des syndicats autonomes (UNSA; National Union of Autonomous Trade Unions), Union syndicale solidaires (Solidaires; Solidarity Trade Union Federa­tion), and the Fédération syndicale unitaire (FSU; Uni­tary Trade Union Federation). Election results for workers’ representation at the company level are a critical component of a trade un­ion’s capacity to negotiate and be recognised as a partner. In France, unions need to receive at least Table 1 Trade unions and workers’ representation elections Union CFDT CGT FO CFE-CGC CFTC UNSA Solidaires FSU Union Membership 610,144 600,000 350,000 148,000 140,000 200,000 110,000 160,000 Share in the elections for the term of office 2017–2020 (in per cent) 26.77 22.96 15.24 11.92 9.50 5.99 3.68 n.d. Source: Data from the Ministry of Labour, Full Employment and Vocational Integration, and the ­Confederation of the French trade unions; own calculation(2021). N.d.= no data. 1