Women take over France’s powerful trade unions

In manyrespects , this has been a dreadful year for French trade unionism. A four-month struggle against pension reform has come to little. New rules that raise the retirement age from 62 years to 64 have been forced through parliament, without a direct vote, and written into law. Yet France’s unions are upbeat. Why?One reason is that all eight French unions have stuck together throughout. Another is that the public-sector workers who usually fill the streets have been joined by young people and private-sector employees. Only 10.8% of French workers belong to a union, compared with 23.5% in Britain and 16.3% in Germany. But French unions derive their strength from their ability to pack protest rallies, as well as the strong statutory role they enjoy within firms.