Syndicalism in France

in France to the

obstacles in the way of economic initiative and of personal effort. These interests and ideas dictated the law of March 2-17, 1791, which abolished the guilds and inaugurated the era

o industry and the introduction of machinery. The process went on in France irregularly, affecting different industries and different localities in various degrees. The first machine (machine à vapeur) was

Machines Tot

2,450

5,672

5,805

6,146

4,010

5,967

,866 1,

238 2,91

in industry, the concentration of industry in a smaller number of establishments and

e 14-17, 1791, and known by the name of its author as the law Le Chapelier. The law Le Chapelier, though dictate

the "right to assemble peacefully and to form among themselves free associations subject only to the laws which all citizens must obey,"[4] the carpenters formed L'Union fraternelle des ouvriers en l'art de la charpente, an association ostensibly for benevolent purposes only, but which in reality helped the carpenters in their struggle with their masters. The masters repeatedly petitioned the municipality of Paris to put an end to the "disorde

assemble for their pretended common interests. There is no longer any corporation (guild) in the State; there is but the particular interest of each individual and the general interest...." And further, "It is necessary to ab

ade, entrepreneurs, those who run a shop, workingmen in any trade whatsoever, shall not, when assembled together, nominate presidents, nor secretaries, nor syndics, shall not keep any records, shall not deliberate nor pass resolutions nor form any regulations with reference to their pretended common interests." The fourth clause declared all acts contrary to this law unconstitutional, subject to the jurisdiction of the police tribunals, punishable by a fine of 500 livres and by a temporary suspension of active rights of citizenship. The s

the Assembly, the author of

none of us intend to prevent the merchants from discussing their common interests. I therefore propose to insert into the proceedings the following cla

of the Office du Travail, "demonstrates sufficiently that the law was especial

provision whereby all workingmen were to have a special certificate (livret)[9] which subjected them to a strict surveillance of the police. The law of 1803 against coalitions was replaced in 1810 by the clauses 414-41

njustly and abusively, followed by an attempt or a commencement of execution, shall be p

ore or after certain hours and, in general, to suspend, hinder or make dear labor, if there has been an attempt or a beginning of execution, shall b

those workingmen who shall have declared fines, prohibitions, interdictions and any other proscriptions under the name of

promoters of the crime, after the expiration of their fine, may be made subject t

l Code which forbade any kind of associations of more than twenty persons. These articles were made more stringent by

machinery was making headway, but the relations between employer and workingmen were aggravated by competition even in those industries where the old conditions of trade did not change perceptibly for some time. Competition forced the employer to become a "calculator above everything else" and "to consider th

ndemned. These figures are incomplete. They give, however, some idea of the frequency and persistence with which the workingmen had recourse to strikes in spite of t

r N

used Acquitt

Pri

r

ar

Con

Pri

r

an

Con

P

e O

144 72

244 62

136 51

172 84

3 68 2

206 69

396 104

249 85

522 218

415 155

238 84

332 87 .

300 64

266 86

409 116

682 139

383 79 .

371 80

321 73

298 48 .

297 92 3

298 47 .

401 66

560 124

345 61

329 59 1

267 33

573 119

718 105

315 51 1

1182 117

452 83

300 37 1

269 34

281 29 .

297 34 .

402 78 .

306 44

134 17

disturbances. During the years that followed the Revolution of July (1830) the workingmen of France were at times in a state of agitation throughou

ized workingmen. Frequently, however, the strikes were either consciously called

es: the compagnonnages, the friendly societies

revalent among the journeymen of France about that time.[14] A journeyman (called compagnon in French) would usually spend some time in visiting the principal cities of France (make his tour de

he compagnonnage was dependent on tests of moral character and of technical skill. Thus, the compagnonnages always embraced but a small part of the workingmen-the

her) of the trade. The compagnons were generally the only boarders in the house. If not numerous enough to occupy the entire house, they had one hall for their exclusive occupation. Here th

k" (Enfants de Maitre Jacques) was founded, according to the story, by one of the master-builders of King Solomon's Temple. The "Sons of Solomon" (Enfants de Solomon) were sure that their order was founded by King Solomon him

traveling compagnons on the road, etc., were occasions for strange and complicated ceremonies which had to be accurately performed. These ceremonies were due in a large meas

thin each devoir by disputes over "ribbons" and other emblems appropriate to each. For instance, the joiners were friends of the carpenters and of the stonecutters, but were enemies of the smiths whom the other two trades accepted. The smiths rejected the harness-makers. The blacksmiths accepted the wheelwrights on condition that the latter wear their colors in a low buttonhole; the wheelwrights promised but did not keep their promise; they wore their c

es) "is a fraternal alliance which unites us all by the sacred ties of friendship, the foundations of which are: virtue, frankness, honesty, love of labor, courage, assistance and fidelity."[16] These abstract terms translated themselves in life into concrete deeds of mutual aid and of assistance which were immensely valuable to the traveling compagnons. A traveling compagnon

gnon, elected rouleur, was charged with the duty of finding employment for compagnons and "aspirants". He kept a list of those in need of work

could, therefore, organize strikes and boycott a master or workshop for long periods of time. In fact, by these methods the compagnonnages struggled for higher wages and better conditions of employment as far back as the sixteenth century. During the Great Revolution the compagnonnages existe

he boundaries of the ancient trades, and entirely transformed most of them. The rapid development of the modern means of communication made the tour de France in its old form an anachronism. The spread of democratic and secular ideas brought the med

eties had existed before the Revolution and the law Le Chapelier was directed also against them. "It is the business of the nation," was the opinion of Le Chapelier, accepted by the Constituent Assembly, "it is the business of the public officials in the name of the nation to furnish employment

societies for a long time played the part of trade unions. The charge of promoting strikes and of interfering with industrial matters was often brought

mployment. These societies of resistance assumed various names. They usually had no benefit features or passed them over lightly in their statutes. They emphasized the purpose of obtaining collectiv

e weavers in 1831 and 1834. Its aim, as formulated in its statutes, was: first, to practice the principles of equity; second, to unite the weavers' efforts in order to obtain a reasonable wage for

or for any other reason which might be regarded as having in view the support of the trade; in other cases of unemployment, no benefit was allowed, in view of the fact that in ordinary times the smelters were seldom idle.[21] The society was open to all smelters,

0 members-half of all the printers at that time in Paris. It was administered by a committee. Through its initiative a mixed commission of employers and workingmen was

l the efforts that were being made by workingmen to adjust themselves to the economic conditions of the time. But after 1830, other ideas began to find adherents among the Frenc

known. For the purposes of this study, it is only necessary to point out that during this period, and particularly during the revolutionary pe

1848, and under the influence of Louis Blanc, did the co-operative idea really become popular with the workingmen. Between 1848 and 1850 the enthusiasm for co-operative societies was great, and a considerable number of them were formed. On July 6, 1848, the Constituent Assembly voted a loan of 3,000,000 francs for co-operative societies, and this

e days of June, it left an impression upon the minds of French workingmen. The belief in a possible social transformation became a tradition with them. Besides, the Revolution gave a strong impulse to purely trade organizations such as the sociétés

anizations were persecuted; most of them perished; others went ag

Its main characteristic during this period was a decided effort to break the legal barriers in its way and to come ou

e to send delegations of workingmen to such exhibitions. In 1849 the Chamber of Commerce of Lyons sent a delegation of workingmen to the National Exhibition in Paris.

aspirations. These reports have been called the cahiers of the working-class. The authors of the reports-workingmen themselves, elected by large numbers o

tion kills us".[27] The trade unions of England made a deep impression on the French delegates and strengthened their conviction of the necessity of organiz

ore their persistent demands. In 1864, in consequence of a strike of Parisian printers which attrac

the intention of the workingmen to make strikes their habitual procedure. The delegates of 1867, who formed a commission which met in Paris for two years, discussing all the economic problems that interested the workingmen of the time, were of the same opinion. A special session of the Commission was devoted to the consideration of the means by which strikes might be avoided. All agree

Agriculture, Commerce and Public Works to present their views and demands. The vice-president of the Commis

r-balance the formidable organization of the syndical chambers of the merchants and manufacturers.... The workingmen's syndical chambers, composed of syndics elected by the votes of the workingmen of their trade, would have an important r?le to fulfil. Besides the competent experts which they could always furnish for the cases subject to the jurisdiction of the prud'hommes, for justices of the peace and for the tribunals of Commerce, they could furnish arbiters for those

henceforth tolerate workingmen's organizations on the same grounds on which it had heretofore tolerated the organizations of employers. With this a

867, the shoemakers had formed a society-the first to bear the name of syndicat-which had openly declared that it would support members on strike a

uction was to them the only means of solving the labor question. As one of the delegates to the Workingmen's Commission of 1867 put it: "Salvation is

ning part of the work, resting upon a foundation of several other organizations. First the members of one and the same trade were to form a syndical chamber of their trade. The syndical chamber was to encourage the creation of a "society of credit and savings" which should have for its aim the collection of funds by regular dues paid by the members. Such "societies of credit and savings" began to develop after 1860, and they were considered

. However, many "societies of credit and saving" were formed. In 1863 there were 200 of them in Paris; and in September, 1863, a central

(Sept., 1866-Feb., 1867)-magazines devoted to the spread of co-operative ideas. It gave advice and information for forming co-operatives. Most of the co-operative enterprises of the pe

tal, and had given out loans for too long periods, while some of the other loans were not reimbursed. The bank had to suspend payment and was closed. The disaster for the co-operat

en into other channels. They now began to join the "International Associati

ganization of mutual aid societies, of mutual insurance companies, of syndicats, of co-operative societies and the like. Much importance was attached to the organization of mutual credit societies and of popular banks. It was hoped that with the help of cheap credit the means of production would be put at the disposal of all and that co-operative societies of production could then be organized in large numbers. The Mutuellistes emphasized

ight hundred. Persecuted by the government after 1867, it was practically dead in France in 1868.[34] But in 1869 it reappeared with renewed strength under the le

Second Empire. A republican and revolutionary above everything else, he had, however, gradually come to formulate in a more precise way a communistic program, to be realized by his party when by a revolutionary upheaval it would be carried into power. The Blanquists denounced the "co-

cceeded in winning over to their collectivist ideas. The congresses of the "Association" in Brussels in 1868 and in Bale in 1

mpire. The members of the "International" succeeded in obtaining financial support for some strikers. This raised the prestige of the "Association", and a numb

lf to others.[38] At the Congress of Bale in 1869, one of the French delegates advocated the necessity of organizing syndicats for two reasons: first, because "they are the means of resisting the exploitation of capital in the present;" and second, because "the grouping of

ring the years 1868-1870-founded a local federation under the name of Chambre Fédérale d

truments of production and to lend them money, in order that they may free themselves from the arbitrariness of the employer and from the exigencies of capital.... The federatio

f the previous period were not lost. The right to strike was recognized. The policy of tolerating workingmen's organizations was continued, notwithstanding a few acts to the contrary. But, above all, the experience of the workingmen was preserved. The form

pter the problems raised and the solutions given to them by the French workingmen for some time after the Commune were directly related to the movement of the Second