The French Democratic Confederation of Labour (, CFDT) is a national trade union center, one of the five major French confederations of trade unions, led since 2023 by . It is the second largest French trade union confederation by number of members (625,000) and recently becoming first in voting results for representative bodies, having traditionally been second.
History
The CFDT has its roots in Christian trade unionism of the French Confederation of Christian Workers (CFTC).
After the Liberation of France, a left-wing minority, grouped in the Reconstruction tendency, led an internal debate in favour of the “deconfessionalization” seeking to secularise the CFTC and achieve greater autonomy from political and religious circles with which the confederation's leadership had been associated. The Reconstruction movement also campaigned for left-wing, social democracy and democratic trade unionism without being Marxist, and against the European treaties deemed to restore a capitalist Europe, under the guise of Christian democracy.
This tendency took root in the mineworker and steelworker sections, in the wake of French Resistance and the ',
The breakthrough came in 1964, when an extraordinary CFTC congress—held at the Palais des Sports in Paris on 6 and 7 November—voted to secularise the CFTC and rename it to the French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT). A minority of approximately 10% opposed the change and instead followed into the immediately refounded "continuation French Confederation of Christian Workers".
At first, under the leadership of Eugène Descamps, the CFDT presented itself as a social-democratic confederation close to the Unified Socialist Party (Parti socialiste unifié or PSU) which was led by Pierre Mendès-France. It sometimes acted in concert with the Communist Party aligned General Confederation of Labour (CGT). This alliance took a part in the May 68 upheaval. Then, the CFDT was auto-gestionary.
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| Chemistry and Energy Federation || FCE || 1997 || 37,428
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| Communication, Consulting, Culture Federation || F3C || 2005 || 43,666
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| Federation of Banks and Insurance || FBA || 1954 ||
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| Federation of Health and Social Services || Santé Sociaux || 1935 || 93,570
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| Federation of General Unions of National Education || SGEN || 1937 || 24,952
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| Federation of Services || CFDT Services || 1913 || 81,094
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| Federation of Social Protection, Work and Employment || PSTE || ||
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| Federation of State Establishments and Arsenals || FEAE || 1962 ||
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| Finance Federation || CFDT Finances || ||
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| General Agri-Food Federation || FGA || 1980 || 37,428
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| General Federation of Mines and Metallurgy || FGMM || 1984 || 56,142
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| General Federation of Transport and the Environment || FGTE || 1977 || 43,666
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| Interco Federation || Interco || 1974 || 68,618
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| National Federation of Construction and Wood Workers || FNCB || 1934 || 24,952
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| Private Training and Education Federation || FEP || 1938 ||
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Other affiliates are:
- CFDT Executives (UCC CFDT)
- Confederate Union of Retired Persons (UCR CFDT)
- Union of Public Service and Similar Federations (UFFA)
Former
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Union !! Left !! Reason not affiliated
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| Equipment Federation || 1977 || Merged into FGTE
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| Federation of Chemicals and Glass || 1997 || Merged into FCE
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| Federation of Food, Hotel, Cafe and Restaurant Workers || 1980 || Merged into FGA
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| Federation of French Sailors and Fishermen || 1977 || Merged into FGTE
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| Federation of Judicial Professions || ||
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| Federation of Labour Ministry Employees || ||
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| Federation of Miners || 1984 || Merged into FGMM
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| Federation of Railway Workers || 1977 || Merged into FGTE
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| Federation of Social Security || ||
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| Federation of Transport || 1977 || Merged into FGTE
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| Federation of the Textile, Clothing and Leather Industries || 2007 || Merged into CFDT Services
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| Federation of Unions of Post and Telecommunications || 2005 || Merged into F3C
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| French Federation of Unions of Commercial Travellers and Agents || ||
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| French Federation of Police Unions || ||
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| General Federation of Agriculture || 1980 || Merged into FGA
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| General Federation of Metallurgy || 1984 || Merged into FGMM
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| National Federation of Civil Aviation || ||
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| National Federation of Personnel of the Electricity and Gas Industries || 1997 || Merged into FCE
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| National Federation of Unions of Communal Employees || 1974 || Merged into Interco
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| National Federation of Unions of Printing Trades, Paper and Cardboard Workers || 1971 || Merged into CFDT Services
|}
Leadership
General Secretaries
:1964: Eugène Descamps
:1971: Edmond Maire
:1988: Jean Kaspar
:1992: Nicole Notat
:2002: François Chérèque
:2012: Laurent Berger
:2023:
Presidents
:1964: Georges Levard
:1967: André Jeanson
:1971: Laurent Lucas
:1973: Post abolished
Notable members
- Edmond Maire
- François Chérèque
- Nicole Notat
- Pierre Rosanvallon