In 1996, Colombia University and New York University marked the centennial of the French labour movement by sponsoring a conference reflecting on the history of this movement and on the future prospects for trade unionism in France. This book presents a collection of papers presented there.

Since 1895, When the Confederation Generale du Travail (CGT) was born, the trade union movement in France has experienced a turbulent century of development that has had an enormous impact on French polity, society and economy. During this time, the French labour movement has occupied a unique and crucial place in the European working class movement. In February 1996, Colombia University and New York University marked the centennial of the French labour movement by jointly sponsoring a conference to reflect on the history of this movement and on the future prospects for trade unionism in France. This book presents a collection of papers presented at that conference, written by distinguished historians and social scientists from both France and the United States, as well as by important French trade union leaders. Offering an interdisciplinary approach, this volume examines the trajectory of the French labour movement and provides lessons for students of contemporary France, western European politics and society, and comparative labour movements.

Acknowledgements - Foreword
G.Seguy - Introduction: The Exceptional Trajectory of the French Labor Movement
H.Chapman, M.Kesselman, M.A.Schain - PART I: HISTORICAL TRAJECTORY: DECLINE OF MILITANTISM, INTERUNION RELATIONS, AND RELATIONS WITH POLITICAL PARTIES - Strategies and Events: The 'Form' of the CGT From 1936 to 1968
R.Mouriaux - Reconceptualizing the Relationship Between Unions and Politics in France
A.Daley - PART II: ECONOMIC RESTRUCTURING AND TECHNOLOGICAL CHANGE - The Restructuring of Capital and Employment
J.Magniadas - Technology and the Labor Movement: Constraint or Opportunity for the CGT?
M.Kesselman - PART III: UNIONS, SOCIETY, AND WORKER MOBILIZATION - Immigration and Trade Unions in France: A Problem and an Opportunity
M.A.Schain - Trade Unions and the Diversification of Class Structure: Technical Culture and Criticism of Power
G.Groux - The French Strike and Social Divide: The End of Consensus Politics?
B.H.Moss - Women and French Unions: Historical Perspectives on the Current Crisis of Representation
L.Levine Frader - PART IV: UNIONS, PUBLIC OPINION, AMD THE STATE - One Century Later: Unions in French Public Opinion - Representations, Images and Expectations
R.Cayrol - Labor, Power, and the State in France: Lessons of Industrial Restructuring
W.Rand Smith - Virtual Trade Unionism in France: A Commentary on The Question of Unions, Public Opinion, and the State
C.Howell - PART V: THE INTERNATIONAL CHALLENGE: GLOBALIZATION AND THE EUROPEAN UNION - The CGT's Internationalism: What Europe, What World?
G.Ross - The New International Trade Unionism
J.Page - About the Authors - Index