The role of French trade unions in public policy has not been discussed much in the academic literature in the fields of political science or industrial relations. This lack of interest is due to several factors. First, the French labour movement is considered unusual in that it is strongly marked by ideologies and very divided. In international comparisons, it is usually described as atypical, being characterised by a remarkable ability to mobilise the population despite a low rate of unionisation (Phelan, 2007; Milner and Mathers, 2013). Second, from 1970 to 2000, authors who studied the role of trade unions in public policy often used an approach based on neo-corporatism, applying the theory of macro-level political exchange. These analyses focus on configurations of interests at the national level, forms of social arrangements, and dynamics of social pacts. Authors who use this framework may examine Spain or Italy, for example, but they usually ignore France, where relations between the ‘social partners’ seem unstable and nationwide social pacts are rare. Finally, most studies of the French labour movement since the 1990s focus on its difficulties and examine union organising practices and the mechanisms through which workers may join or at least support unions.

Studies on countries other than France point to trade unions’ ability to take on a ‘governmental’ or ‘public administration’ function (Ewing, 2005), which entails influencing the orientation of public policy and also contributing to the application of public policy measures. The way unions tend to adhere to the framework of debate set up by governmental institutions and other stakeholders – especially associations – leads to thoughts their relative autonomy on their capacity to produce their own expertise.

Investigating this question can yield new insights into the French situation. The labour movement in France is characterised by a small proportion of members – only 7 to 8 per cent of wage earners – and many internal divisions.