The last time France hosted the Olympic Games was in 1924, and the most important change that has led to a victory for employees since then has been the inclusion of the right to strike in the French Constitution.

If you’ve ever been to France, you may have been affected by a strike that prevented you from taking the train or plane or, more recently, that made your nostrils uncomfortable because of the dustmen’s (garbage collector) strike...

France does have a “strike culture,” which has to do with the way in which employer/employee relations have been constructed historically: strikes were decriminalized in France in 1864, 20 years before trade unions were authorized and were therefore a privileged way for employees to make their demands heard. Strikes, like demonstrations, are one of the means used by French trade unions and employees to defend social gains such as pensions, social security, and the public education system, as well as to obtain pay rises and improvements in working conditions.

These various historical factors have given France a culture of trade union protest, far removed from the contractual tradition of collective bargaining that exists in other European countries, such as Germany.

It was after the Second World War that the right to strike was recognized as a right with constitutional value in France, being enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution on October 27, 1946. The fact that this right to strike was enshrined in the Constitution makes it a fundamental right that can only be challenged by means of a highly complex constitutional amendment procedure, effectively making the right to strike a considerable protection.

According to the Preamble of the Constitution, “The right to strike shall be exercised within the framework of the laws which regulate it.”

Unlike in the public sector, there are no overall regulations on the right to strike in the private sector. There are a few scattered texts found in the Labor Code, which has led case law to define a precise framework specifying the conditions for exercising this right and its limits.

In general terms, and according to a definition common to both the public and private sectors, a strike is a collective and concerted cessation of work in support of professional claims. A strike must therefore meet the following three conditions:

• total stoppage of work,
• collective cessation of work by all striking employees, and
• knowledge by the employer of professional claims (concerning pay, working conditions, etc.).

When a stoppage of work does not meet these cumulative criteria, it is considered unlawful and may therefore give rise to disciplinary action, since employees in this situation have no protection.

As a matter of principle, no employee may be penalized, dismissed, or subjected to discriminatory measures as a result of the normal exercise of the right to strike, as such measures are automatically null and void, unless the employee commits gross misconduct, which presupposes an intention to harm the employer.

Naturally, in the event of a strike seriously affecting the continuity of public service or the needs of the population (strikes in hospitals or police services, for example), the public authorities can carry out requisitions of personnel.

In 2024, France once again has the opportunity to host the Olympic Games, 100 years after it hosted for the first time. This historic event would be greatly disrupted if the unions decided to use their new right gained since the last Games and call for strike action to give greater impact to their demands, as they seem to be threatening to do.

All that remains is to hope that employers and employees will engage in fair play during the new Olympic Games, and that France will be able to maintain its image as a welcoming country.