The Matignon Agreements (French: ''Accords de Matignon'') were signed on 7 June 1936, between the

Confédération générale de la production française The Confédération générale de la production française (CGPF: General Confederation of French Production) was a French manufacturers' association. Foundation The Confédération générale de la production française (CGPF) was created at the ...

(CGPF)

employers' organization An employers' organization or employers' association is a collective organization of manufacturers, retailers, or other employers of wage labor. Employers' organizations seek to coordinate the behavior of their member companies in matters of mutual ...

, the CGT

trade union A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

and the French state. They were signed during a massively followed

general strike A general strike refers to a strike action in which participants cease all economic activity, such as working, to strengthen the bargaining position of a trade union or achieve a common social or political goal. They are organised by large co ...

initiated after the election of the

Popular Front A popular front is "any coalition of working-class and middle-class parties", including liberal and social democratic ones, "united for the defense of democratic forms" against "a presumed Fascist assault". More generally, it is "a coalition ...

in May 1936, which had led to the creation of a left-wing government headed by

Léon Blum André Léon Blum (; 9 April 1872 – 30 March 1950) was a French socialist politician and three-time Prime Minister. As a Jew, he was heavily influenced by the Dreyfus affair of the late 19th century. He was a disciple of French Socialist le ...

(

SFIO The French Section of the Workers' International (french: Section française de l'Internationale ouvrière, SFIO) was a political party in France that was founded in 1905 and succeeded in 1969 by the modern-day Socialist Party. The SFIO was found ...

). Also known as the "

Magna Carta (Medieval Latin for "Great Charter of Freedoms"), commonly called (also ''Magna Charta''; "Great Charter"), is a royal charter of rights agreed to by King John of England at Runnymede, near Windsor, on 15 June 1215. First drafted by the ...

of French Labor", these agreements were signed at the

Hôtel Matignon The Hôtel Matignon or Hôtel de Matignon () is the official residence of the Prime Minister of France. It is located in the 7th arrondissement of Paris, at 57 Rue de Varenne. "Matignon" is often used as a metonym for the governmental action o ...

, official residence of the head of the government, hence their name.

May–June general strike and agreements

The negotiations, in which participated

Benoît Frachon Benoît Frachon (13 May 1893 – 1 August 1975) was a French metalworker and trade union leader who was one of the leaders of the French Communist Party (''Parti communiste français'', PCF) and of the French Resistance during World War II (1939– ...

for the CGT,

Marx Dormoy René Marx Dormoy (, 1 August 1888 – 26 July 1941) was a French socialist politician, noted for his opposition to the far right. Under his leadership as Minister of the Interior in the government of Léon Blum, the French police infiltrated ...

(SFIO) as under-secretary of state to the President of the Council,

Jean-Baptiste Lebas Jean-Baptiste Lebas (; 24 October 1878 – 10 March 1944) was a French Socialist politician, deputy to the National Assembly of France during the Third Republic, who served twice as minister under Léon Blum’s governments. He was mayor of R ...

(SFIO, Minister of Labour), had started on 6 June at 3 PM, but the pressure from the

workers' movement The labour movement or labor movement consists of two main wings: the trade union movement (British English) or labor union movement (American English) on the one hand, and the political labour movement on the other. * The trade union movement ...

was such that the employers' confederation quickly accepted the unions' terms. A

had been initiated in

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

on 26 May, accompanied by

factory occupation Occupation of factories is a method of the workers' movement used to prevent lock outs. They may sometimes lead to "recovered factories", in which the workers self-manage the factories. They have been used in many strike actions, including: * ...

s to prevent lock outs, and had quickly spread to all of France. More than a million workers were on strike. The social movement immediately followed the electoral victory of the Popular Front, in order to reach this position of force. Interior Minister

Roger Salengro Roger Henri Charles Salengro (30 May 1890, in Lille – 18 November 1936, in Lille) was a French politician. He achieved fame as Minister of the Interior during the Popular Front government in 1936. He committed suicide a few months after taking ...

publicly announced the following day the success of the negotiations. Without having to organize

strike Strike may refer to: People *Strike (surname) Physical confrontation or removal *Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm *Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...

in each factory in order to gain some advantages for them, all of the

workers The workforce or labour force is a concept referring to the pool of human beings either in employment or in unemployment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic regio ...

benefited with these agreements of: *the legal

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to work. A strike usually takes place in response to employee grievances. Strikes became common during the I ...

*the removal of all obstacles to

union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

organization (including the right to have representatives, named '' délégués du personnel'', elected by

secret ballot The secret ballot, also known as the Australian ballot, is a voting method in which a voter's identity in an election or a referendum is anonymous. This forestalls attempts to influence the voter by intimidation, blackmailing, and potential vote ...

, which may not be fired without approval from the

labour inspection 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 ...

- ''inspection du travail'' - and thus are protected from pressures by the employers *and a blanket 7-12 percent wage increase for all workers (it is thus the reverse of

deflation In economics, deflation is a decrease in the general price level of goods and services. Deflation occurs when the inflation rate falls below 0% (a negative inflation rate). Inflation reduces the value of currency over time, but sudden deflation ...

, and is an economic policy based on

demand In economics, demand is the quantity of a good that consumers are willing and able to purchase at various prices during a given time. The relationship between price and quantity demand is also called the demand curve. Demand for a specific item ...

) (the female workers in

Verdun Verdun (, , , ; official name before 1970 ''Verdun-sur-Meuse'') is a large city in the Meuse department in Grand Est, northeastern France. It is an arrondissement of the department. Verdun is the biggest city in Meuse, although the capital ...

even succeeded in obtaining a 400% wages increase) Furthermore, Blum's government deposed on 5 June five law projects, prepared by the Minister of Labour Jean-Baptiste Lebas, which were easily adopted during the month. These laws granted: *paid vacations (two weeks - for the first time in France) (voted by the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

on 20 June 1936) *

40-hour work week The eight-hour day movement (also known as the 40-hour week movement or the short-time movement) was a social movement to regulate the length of a business day, working day, preventing excesses and abuses. An eight-hour work day has its ori ...

paid 48 (adopted by the Assembly on 21 June 1936). *

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

(adopted by the Assembly on 24 June 1936) *the repeal of the 1935 decree-laws concerning the wages of public servants and the taxes on World War I veterans' pensions. On 11 June,

Maurice Thorez Maurice Thorez (; 28 April 1900 – 11 July 1964) was a French politician and longtime leader of the French Communist Party (PCF) from 1930 until his death. He also served as Deputy Prime Minister of France from 1946 to 1947. Pre-War Thorez, ...

, national secretary of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

(PCF), stated that "one must know how to finish a strike, at the moment that the main points have been obtained." His declaration was published in ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'', the press organ of the PCF. Alluding to

Marceau Pivert Marceau Pivert (2 October 1895, Montmachoux, Seine-et-Marne – 3 June 1958, Paris) was a French schoolteacher, trade unionist, socialist militant, and journalist. He was an alumnus of the École normale supérieure de Saint-Cloud. SFIO Acti ...

's famous statement, he recalled that "Not everything was possible but the slogan is still: 'Everything for the Popular Front!' 'Everything by the Popular Front'" French: ''"il faut savoir terminer une grève, dès l'instant où les revendications essentielles ont été obtenues''".. "''Tout n'est pas possible mais le mot d'ordre reste Tout pour le front populaire! Tout par le Front populaire!"''. Work was resumed at the

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

factories on 13 and 15 June and in the steelworking industry.

Legacy

The ''délégués du personnel'' were suppressed under

Vichy Vichy (, ; ; oc, Vichèi, link=no, ) is a city in the Allier Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of central France, in the historic province of Bourbonnais. It is a Spa town, spa and resort town and in World ...

, and re-established by the 16 April 1945 Act passed by the

GPRF The Provisional Government of the French Republic (PGFR; french: Gouvernement provisoire de la République française (''GPRF'')) was the provisional government of Free France between 3 June 1944 and 27 October 1946, following the liberation ...

provisional government.

May–June general strike and agreements

Legacy

References

See also