Left parties and trade unions in France

Abstract

Historically, the supposed independence of unions from parties in France has been a myth, with the development of close relations between the CGT and the PCF, on the one hand, and looser ones between the CFDT in particular and the PS, on the other. These links weakened from the 1980s on, but appeared to be re-established, with some changes, when unions backed François Hollande in the 2012 presidential elections. The decline of the PCF and the rallying of unions behind Hollande appeared to signal the possibility of a social democratic bloc in France. However, in reality, this is a temporary and unstable phenomenon as few mutual benefits can be assured by either unions or the Socialist Party through the creation of more stable union–party links. The explanations for this are structural, ideational and contingent.

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