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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 during a massively followed general strike initiated after the election of the Popular Front in May 1936, which had led to the creation of a left-wing government headed by Léon Blum (SFIO). Also known as the "Magna Carta of French Labor", these agreements were signed at the Hôtel Matignon, official residence of the head of the government, hence their name.

May–June general strike and agreements[edit]

The negotiations, in which participated Benoît Frachon for the CGT, Marx Dormoy (SFIO) as under-secretary of state to the President of the Council, Jean-Baptiste Lebas (SFIO, Minister of Labour), had started on 6 June at 3 PM, but the pressure from the workers' movement was such that the employers' confederation quickly accepted the unions' terms. A general strike had been initiated in Le Havre on 26 May, accompanied by factory occupations 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 publicly announced the following day the success of the negotiations.

Without having to organize strike in each factory in order to gain some advantages for them, all of the workers benefited with these agreements of:

the legal right to strike
the removal of all obstacles to union organization (including the right to have representatives, named délégués du personnel, elected by secret ballot, which may not be fired without approval from the labour inspection - 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, and is an economic policy based on demand) (the female workers in Verdun 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 on 20 June 1936)
40-hour work week paid 48 (adopted by the Assembly on 21 June 1936).^[1]
collective bargaining (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, national secretary of the French Communist Party (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, the press organ of the PCF. Alluding to Marceau Pivert'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'" ^[2]

Work was resumed at the Renault factories on 13 and 15 June and in the steelworking industry.

Legacy[edit]

The délégués du personnel were suppressed under Vichy, and re-established by the 16 April 1945 Act passed by the GPRF provisional government.

References[edit]

^ Prost, Antoine (2002). "The French strikes of May-June 1936 revisited". Le Mouvement Social (in French). 200 (3): 33–54. doi:10.3917/lms.200.0033. ISSN 0027-2671.
^ 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!".

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
+{{Short description|1936 labor agreements in France}}
-The '''Matignon Agreements''' (French: '''''Accords de Matignon''''') were signed on June 7, 1936, at one o'clock in the morning, between the [[CGPF]] employers trade union confederation, the [[CGT (France)|CGT]] trade union and the French state. They were signed during a massively followed [[general strike]] initiated after the election of the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] in May 1936, which had led to the creation of a left-wing government headed by [[Léon Blum]] ([[SFIO]]). Also known as the "[[Magna Carta]] of French Labor", these agreements were signed at the [[Hôtel Matignon]], official residence of the head of the government, hence their name.
+{{Refimprove|date=October 2011}}
+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 (France)|CGT]] [[trade union]] and the French state. They were signed during a massively followed [[general strike]] initiated after the election of the [[Popular Front (France)|Popular Front]] in May 1936, which had led to the creation of a left-wing government headed by [[Léon Blum]] ([[French Section of the Workers' International|SFIO]]). Also known as the "[[Magna Carta]] of French Labor", these agreements were signed at the [[Hôtel Matignon]], official residence of the head of the government, hence their name.
-== The May-June general strike and the Matignon agreements ==
+== May–June general strike and agreements ==
+The negotiations, in which participated [[Benoît Frachon]] for the CGT, [[Marx Dormoy]] (SFIO) as under-secretary of state to the President of the Council, [[Jean-Baptiste Lebas]] (SFIO, Minister of Labour), had started on 6 June at 3 PM, but the pressure from the [[workers' movement]] was such that the employers' confederation quickly accepted the unions' terms. A [[general strike]] had been initiated in [[Le Havre]] on 26 May, accompanied by [[factory occupation]]s to prevent [[lockout (industry)|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]] publicly announced the following day the success of the negotiations.
-The negotiations, to which participated [[Benoît Frachon]] for the CGT, [[Marx Dormoy]] (SFIO) as under-secretary of state to the President of the Council, [[Jean-Baptiste Lebas]] (SFIO, Minister of Labour), had started on June 6 at 3 PM, but the pressure from the [[workers' movement]] was such that the employers' confederation quickly accepted the unions' terms. A [[general strike]] had been initiated in [[Le Havre]] on 26 May, accompanied by [[factory occupation]]s to prevent [[lock out]]s, 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]] publicly announced the following day the success of the negotiations.
 Without having to organize [[strike action|strike]] in each factory in order to gain some advantages for them, all of the [[workers]] benefited with these agreements of:
 *the legal [[right to strike]]
-*the removal of all obstacles to [[trade union|union]] organization (including the right to have representatives, named ''[[délégués du personnel]]'', elected by [[secret ballot]], which may not be fired without approval from the [[labour inspection]] - ''inspection du travail'' -, and thus are protected from pressions by the employers)
+*the removal of all obstacles to [[trade union|union]] organization (including the right to have representatives, named ''[[délégués du personnel]]'', elected by [[secret ballot]], which may not be fired without approval from the [[labour inspection]] - ''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]], and is an economic policy based on [[demand]]) (the female workers in [[Verdun]] even succeeded in obtaining a 400% wages increase!)
+*and a blanket 7-12 percent wage increase for all workers (it is thus the reverse of [[deflation]], and is an economic policy based on [[demand]]) (the female workers in [[Verdun]] even succeeded in obtaining a 400% wages increase)
-Furthermore, Blum's government deposed on June 5 five law projects, prepared by the Minister of Labour Jean-Baptiste Lebas, which were easily adopted during the month. These laws granted:
+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 (France)|National Assembly]] on 20 June 1936)
-*[[8 hours day|40 hour work week]] paid 48 (adopted by the Assembly on 21 June 1936).
+*[[8 hours day|40-hour work week]] paid 48 (adopted by the Assembly on 21 June 1936).<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Prost |first=Antoine |date=2002 |title=The French strikes of May-June 1936 revisited. |url=https://www.cairn.info/revue-le-mouvement-social-2002-3-page-33.htm |journal=Le Mouvement Social |language=fr |volume=200 |issue=3 |pages=33–54 |doi=10.3917/lms.200.0033 |issn=0027-2671}}</ref>
 *[[collective bargaining]] (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 June 11, [[Maurice Thorez]], national secretary of the [[French Communist Party]] (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]]'', the press organ of the PCF. Alluding to [[Marceau Pivert]]'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'" <ref> 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!"''. </ref>
+On 11 June, [[Maurice Thorez]], national secretary of the [[French Communist Party]] (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]]'', the press organ of the PCF. Alluding to [[Marceau Pivert]]'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'" <ref>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!"''.</ref>
-Work was resumed at the [[Renault]] factories on June 13 and 15 and in the [[steelworks|steelworking]] industry. A general and progressive decrease of [[unemployment]] and the start of a relative [[economic growth]] was observed following the Matignon agreements.
+Work was resumed at the [[Renault]] factories on 13 and 15 June and in the [[steelworks|steelworking]] industry.
 == Legacy ==
@@ Line 26: / Line 27: @@
 The ''délégués du personnel'' were suppressed under [[Vichy France|Vichy]], and re-established by the 16 April 1945 Act passed by the [[GPRF]] provisional government.
-== References ==
+==References==
-{{reflist}}
+{{Reflist}}
 == See also ==
-{{organized labour portal}}
+{{Portal|Organized labour}}
-*[[Labor law]]
+*[[Interwar France]]
-*[[Matignon Agreements]]
+*[[French Left]]
+*[[Matignon Agreements (disambiguation)]]
-*[[History of the Left in France]]
 *''[[:fr:Grèves de mai-juin 1936 en Alsace|fr:Grèves de mai-juin 1936 en Alsace]]''
 *''[[:fr:Délégué du personnel|fr:délégué du personnel]]''
+{{SFIO}}{{Authority control}}
 [[Category:Labor disputes in France]]
-[[Category:French Third Republic]]
+[[Category:1936 labor disputes and strikes]]
 [[Category:1936 in France]]
+[[Category:French labour law]]
-[[fr:Accords de Matignon (1936)]]
+[[Category:Treaties concluded in 1936]]
+[[Category:Treaties entered into force in 1936]]
-{{France-hist-stub}}
+[[Category:Treaties of the French Third Republic]]

v t e French Section of the Workers' International
General Secretary	Louis Dubreuilh (1905−1918) Ludovic-Oscar Frossard (1918−1920) Paul Faure (1920−1940) Vacant (1940−1943) Daniel Mayer (1943−1946) Guy Mollet (1946−1969)
Related articles	Paris Commune French Socialist Party (Federation of the Socialist Workers of France and Revolutionary Socialist Workers' Party) Socialist Party of France (French Workers' Party and Socialist Revolutionary Party) Globe Congress Second International L'Humanité Le Populaire Tours Congress French Turn (Trotskyism) Matignon Agreements The Vichy 80 French Resistance (Brutus Network) National Council of Resistance Issy-les-Moulineaux Congress Revolutionary socialism Blanquism Marxism Possibilism Social democracy Democratic socialism Neosocialism
Derivatives	French Communist Party Socialist Party of France – Jean Jaurès Union / Socialist Republican Union / National Popular Rally Internationalist Workers Party Workers and Peasants' Socialist Party Democratic Socialist Party Union of the Socialist Left / Unified Socialist Party / Union of Clubs for the Renewal of the Left / Union of Socialist Groups and Clubs Socialist Party
Alliances	Lefts Cartel (1924–1934) Popular Front (1936–1938) Tripartisme (1944–1947) Third Force (1947–1958) Federation of the Democratic and Socialist Left (1965–1968)

Latest revision as of 16:48, 8 September 2023

May–June general strike and agreements[edit]

Legacy[edit]

References[edit]

See also[edit]