Andre Hoyles analyses the development, organisation and end of the mass strike in France, , with reference to case studies of particular factories. The struggles reached into every corner of French life, and set in motion a train of events which led to the toppling of President De Gaulle. To many people, the French events demonstrated for the first time the real possibility of revolution in advanced industrial countries. In the U. They paid very little attention to what was going on in the factories, mills and offices where the largest part of the French population carried out the chores of daily life.
The left-wing press was, if anything, less informative than the commercial press. Every little radical group seized upon the French upheaval as an occasion to produce long analytical articles advancing its particular "line' on how to make a revolution.
To our knowledge, no one has yet published, in this country, any real account of what the French workers were doing during the great days of May ' To fill this void, we are publishing this pamphlet. It first appeared as a chapter in the edition of the Trade Union Register, published by the Institute for Workers' Control, of London. One special feature of French life, not explained in the pamphlet, must be dealt with in order for American readers to derive the full benefit of it.
In France unlike the situation in basic industry here, union membership is not compulsory and no union has a monopoly on the workers in any enterprise. There are three major union federations, which compete for members in every large factory. All workers, whether or not they are members of any union, have the right to vote for delegates on the joint slate which represents them in negotiations with management.
Sojourner Truth Organization. It is far too soon to try to write a comprehensive account of the "events" of May and June in the factories of France, and this study cannot claim to be any more than an attempt at defining the forms taken by the strike and occupation in a few selected places, and judging their meaning and effect.
