French labour law is the system of

labour law Labour laws (also known as labor laws or employment laws) are those that mediate the relationship between workers, employing entities, trade unions, and the government. Collective labour law relates to the tripartite relationship between employee, ...

operating in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

History

During the French Revolution, the ''

Le Chapelier Law 1791 The ''Le Chapelier Law'' (french: Loi Le Chapelier) was a piece of legislation passed by the National Assembly during the first phase of the French Revolution (14 June 1791), banning guilds as the early version of trade unions, as well as ' (by orga ...

'' was passed to prohibit unions or guilds and strikes in particular, with a proclamation of "free enterprise". On 25 May 1864, the '' loi Ollivier'' was passed to reverse the prohibitions on strike action. The prohibitions on forming trade unions were lifted by

Waldeck Rousseau Pierre Marie René Ernest Waldeck-Rousseau (; 2 December 184610 August 1904) was a French Republican politician who served as the Prime Minister of France. Early life Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau was born in Nantes, Brittany. His father, René Wal ...

's laws passed on 21 March 1884. Between 1936 and 1938 the Popular Front enacted a law mandating 12 days (2 weeks) each year of paid

vacation A vacation (American English) or holiday (British English) is either a leave of absence from a regular job or an instance of leisure travel away from home. People often take a vacation during specific holiday observances or for specific festi ...

for workers, and the

Matignon Accords (1936) The Matignon Agreements (French: ''Accords de Matignon'') were signed on 7 June 1936, between the Confédération générale de la production française (CGPF) employers' organization, the CGT trade union and the French state. They were signed d ...

. This established the right to organise a union, to bargain collectively, a legal right to strike, and was followed by enactments which limited the work week to 40 hours, excluding overtime, and guaranteed paid holidays. The Grenelle agreements negotiated on May 25 and 26th in the middle of the May 1968 crisis, reduced the working week to 44 hours and created trade union sections in each enterprise. The minimum wage was also increased by 25%. In 2000 Lionel Jospin's government then enacted the

35-hour workweek The 35-hour working week is a part of a labour law reform adopted in France in February 2000, under Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's Plural Left government. Pushed by Minister of Labour Martine Aubry, it was adopted in two phases: the "Aubry 1" law ...

, down from 39 hours. Five years later, conservative prime minister Dominique de Villepin enacted the New Employment Contract (CNE). Addressing the demands of employers asking for more

flexibility Stiffness is the extent to which an object resists deformation in response to an applied force. The complementary concept is flexibility or pliability: the more flexible an object is, the less stiff it is. Calculations The stiffness, k, of a bo ...

in French labour laws, the CNE sparked criticism from trade unions and opponents claiming it was lending favour to contingent work. In 2006 he then attempted to pass the

First Employment Contract The ''contrat première embauche'' (CPE; en, first employment contract) was a new form of employment contract pushed in spring 2006 in France by Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin. This employment contract, available solely to employees unde ...

(CPE) through a vote by emergency procedure, but that it was met by students and unions' protests. President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

finally had no choice but to repeal it. The "

right to disconnect The right to disconnect is a proposed human right regarding the ability of people to disconnect from work and primarily not to engage in work-related electronic communications such as e-mails or messages during non-work hours. The modern working en ...

" law came into force in January 2017, which means that companies with more than 50 workers will be obliged to draw up a charter of good conduct. This charter sets out the hours in which staff are not supposed to send or answer emails. * June Days Uprising (1848) *

Champagne Riots The Champagne Riots of 1910 and 1911 resulted from a series of problems faced by grape growers in the Champagne area of France. These included four years of disastrous crop losses, the infestation of the phylloxera louse (which destroyed of viney ...

(1910-1911) *

LIP (company) LIP is a French watch and clock company whose turmoil became emblematic of the conflicts between workers and capital in France. The LIP factory, based in Besançon in eastern France, began to experience financial problems in the late 1960s and ear ...

(1974-1976)

French labour code

The French labour code (''code du travail'') is the national which governs work and labor relations in the country.

Individual rights

, a law to remove job security for young workers, defeated by protests in 2006. * Contrat nouvelle embauche

Trade unions

List of trade unions in France A list of trade unions in France: Unions *Five confederations recognized by the state as representative trade union: **''Confédération Française Démocratique du Travail'' (CFDT) **'' Confédération Française des Travailleurs Chrétiens'' ( ...

Enforcement

In France, the

Inspection du travail The ''Inspection du travail'' (IT, ''Labour inspection'') is a French specialized body of civil servants, charged of the surveillance of employment and labour law in firms, created in 1892 during the Third Republic. History The Labour inspect ...

is the body responsible for checking whether the provisions of the Labour Code or

collective agreements A collective agreement, collective labour agreement (CLA) or collective bargaining agreement (CBA) is a written contract negotiated through collective bargaining for employees by one or more trade unions with the management of a company (or with an ...

are correctly applied in companies. The labor inspectors primarily control whether companies apply the Labor Code on all points :

employment contracts An employment contract or contract of employment is a kind of contract used in labour law to attribute rights and responsibilities between parties to a bargain. The contract is between an "employee" and an "employer". It has arisen out of the old ...

, illegal work, working hours, etc. However, the Inspection du travail cannot resolve disputes related to the employment contract, as this is the role of the Labour Court.

Pensions

French special retirement plan In France employees of some government-owned corporations enjoy a special retirement plan, collectively known as ''régimes spéciaux de retraite''. These professions include employees of the SNCF (national railways), the RATP (Parisian transpo ...

, for public sector workers

Unemployment protection

Unemployment benefits in France Unemployment insurance in France was first established in 1958. Benefits and contributions are set by the independent body called UNEDIC which is controlled equally by Trade Unions and Employer associations. Unemployment benefits are paid only to ...

Agence nationale pour l'emploi The ''Agence nationale pour l'emploi'', or ANPE (English: "National Employment Agency" or "National Work Agency") was a French government agency which provided counseling and aid to those who are in search of a job or of training. The ANPE was c ...

(1967-2008) *

Pôle emploi Pôle emploi (; English: ''employment centre'') is a French governmental agency which registers unemployed people, helps them find jobs and provides them with financial aid. The agency was created in 2008, resulting from the merger between the ANP ...

(est 2009)

Notes

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