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Discusses developments in the French labor movement in light of President Nicolas Sarkozy's expressed desire to strengthen unions. After noting that the French labor movement is one of the weakest in Europe by virtue of low membership & calling its fragmentation "legendary," why it has been, nonetheless, so effective is addressed, highlighting strong public support for strike action & high strike levels. Brief attention is given to the symbiotic state-union relationship, indicating that Sarkozy's actions are driven by the state's subtle dependence on unions. Adapted from the source document.

This past spring, French president Nicolas Sarkozy published a "point of view" article in the French newspaper Le Monde entitled "For Strong Unions." After writing of his desire to enhance the "social dialogue," he expressed his support for measures that would promote the organizational strength and legitimacy of the trade union movement. Indeed, just a week before, on April 11, five union confederations, together with the three most important employer groups in the country, announced a "common position on representivity, social dialogue and the financing of the trade union movement." The agreement, by requiring a minimum threshold of electoral support in certain "social elections" (for shop stewards and plant committees, for example), would give legal standing to only the largest confederations; it would also require that collective agreements on wages and working conditions be signed by these same unions in order to be valid.

Beginning with the Industrial Revolution, Europe was seized by the spirit of political and social innovation and reform that has continued into the 21st century. The general atmosphere of the continent, reflected in the Romantic, Realist, and Modernist movements that swept through its nations, reflected a growing cognizance of previously neglected social realities that demanded action. This engaging volume chronicles Europe's transformations from the late 18th century through the present and examines the European response to both prosperity and war

Originally published in 1950, this book is a narrative and analytical account of the making of the new French Constitution and views that process in its historical setting. Although the book's central theme is the constitutional problem, it is in a broader sense concerned with the political forces at work in France since liberation. The 2 years of provisional government from August 1944 to December 1946 brought French politics to a new pitch of complexity. Economic stress, international tension, colonial unrest and personal rivalries sharpened the conflicts among the men who made the constitution. All of these elements wentinto the formation of the Fourth French Republic and are discussed in the book.

THE FUTURE ROLE OF ORGANIZATIONS DEPENDS ON THE INTERESTS AND PRIORITIES OF THE WORKERS THEY REPRESENT. WHILE DEMOCRACY CREATES NEW RIGHTS AND OPPORTUNITES, IT ALSO CARRIES WITH IT NEW DILEMMAS AND CHALLENGES. THIS ARTICLE ANSWERS THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS: WHAT DO WORKERS EXPECT FROM DEMOCRACY? WORKERS' ACTIVITIES AND POLITICAL PRIORITIES DEPEND ON HOW AND THE DEGREE TO WHICH THEIR INTERESTS ARE MET, AND UPON THE INSTITUTIONS WHICH CARRY SUCH INTERESTS FORWARD. HOW DO UNIONS INFLUENCE THEIR CHOICES?