Heterogeneity in the socio-productive fabric and social conflict

Hétérogénéité du tissu socio-productif et conflictualité

Pierre Francois () and Théo Voldoire
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Pierre Francois: CSO - Centre de sociologie des organisations (Sciences Po, CNRS) - Sciences Po - Sciences Po - CNRS - Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique
Théo Voldoire: Sciences Po - Sciences Po

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Abstract: The text analyzes the relationships between the heterogeneity of France's socio-productive fabric and the evolution of workplace conflict between 2005 and 2017. Based on data from the REPONSE surveys, three major corporate configurations are identified: globalized firms, family-owned SMEs, and the third sector. In each of these, how does financialization weigh on social tensions? Unlike the U.S. model, where finance has weakened union counterbalances, the French case reveals a co-occurrence between financialization and the intensity of industrial relations in large firms. However, the analysis invalidates the hypothesis of a revitalization of capital-labor confrontation directly driven by shareholder logic. On the contrary, it demonstrates the persistence of logics inherited from the "factory age": conflict remains structurally embedded in large industrial or transport companies, which are heavily unionized and equipped with union representatives. While a significant decline in strikes and work stoppages has been observed since the exceptional peak of 2011, this is primarily explained by a morphological transformation of the productive fabric—particularly deindustrialization, the reduction in establishment size, and the decline of public shareholding—as well as by the weakening of union coverage. Ultimately, workplace conflict continues to be governed by traditional institutional and sectoral frameworks rather than by a redeployment of class struggle under the influence of financialization.

Date: 2020
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