Government, employers, unions: twenty years of stormy relations

The operation began on October 10, 1997 with a declaration of war by the boss of French bosses, Jean Gandois. Prime Minister Lionel Jospin had just announced at the end of a social conference that there would indeed be a law on 35 hours. The famous “we were fooled all day long!” symbolizes the divide that Ernest-Antoine Seillière, his successor at the head of the CNPF quickly renamed Medef, will accentuate by bringing the unions with him to relaunch a social dialogue at the end of the day. Maneuvering? Denis Kessler, the vice-president of the organization, whose objective is to revisit the post-war social pact which has become obsolete. He gives his plan a name: social refoundation.“There was a vengeful side to Medef, the desire to show that it was useful. And the organization has found partners in the unions, even if some, like the CGT, go there reluctantly, ” says historian Stéphane Sirot.

It must be said that the inspirations of Medef

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