FRANCE: WEAK, FRAGMENTED AND PARTISAN UNIONS

• Divided at the national level among three confederations in industry and services: the Communist Confédération Général du Travail (CGT); the Socialist Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail (CFDT), and the reformist CGT-Force Ouvrière. One strong confederation in agriculture: National Federation of Farmers' Unions (FNSEA).



• Communist and Socialist parties vie for control of these confederations.



• French law prohibits unions from becoming involved in economic policy-making. Labor is therefore dependent upon partisan politics to gain access to policy-making.