The restoration of authority by individual employers

The previous chapter described the changes in the organization of the employers in France and the attempt to mobilize a broad current of opinion in response to the Popular Front. But in fact much of the business counter-attack was carried out on a much smaller scale, that is to say by individual employers seeking to restore their authority within their own factories. This authority had been challenged by the strikes of the summer of 1936, and the regime established after those strikes presented a similar challenge. Employers had lost a psychological advantage by their very visible defeat. Reports of disruption in the Renault archives show the effect of this loss. The atmosphere of kermesse that had characterized the strikes continued after their end: at one point two drunken delegates dressed up as Spanish militiamen and entertained their colleagues with a song and dance routine. There were endless reports of petty delinquency. Furthermore, increasing unionization and the institution of workers' delegates meant that there was an alternative hierarchy to that established by managers. Alongside the formal demands made by the unions relating to pay and conditions there was a struggle for mastery within the factory. Many conflicts sprang from the attempts of workers to influence the running of the workplace. In January 1937 the workers in the polishing shop walked out in protest at the alleged lowering of quality of the work performed.