1. NEIRE 3. FRANCE: the MEDIATION OF COLLECTIVE CONFLICTS in work.
Aurélien Colson, Alan Jenkins & Christian Thuderoz,
(ESSEC – Irene, FRANCE).

2. negotiation and the use of mediation
Mediation in French processes of conflict management should be seen in the light of 4 features of collective negotiation
1. French negotiation patterns are…
  -quantitatively rich, but qualitatively poor … and slowly decentralizing to the firm
2. Dominance of the state and law … inertial?
-the state as defender, regulator, motivator and guarantor of “social equilibrium” 
-its main weapon is labour law, which has become very dense & complex
-an effect of saturation: so many legal obligations generate formalism and ritual
3. Employers, management and unions: patterns of interaction
-in CAC 40 firms collective negotiation is an HR question and often “not strategic”
-in SMEs negotiation processes are too unwieldy and long, and agreements are unstable in law
-managers and unions see each other as low in crucial skills. Trust is also weak.
4. Lack of a “national culture of negotiation”?
-national training and education on social dialogue is weak
-norms and rituals of confrontation are strong: strikes & demonstrations as a reflex

3. negotiation and the use of mediation
2. There are 3 dimensions to the role of third parties in the resolution of labour disputes in France:
1. French labour law provides for the possibility of voluntary conciliation and mediation: often involving local or regional labour administrations (“conciliation”)
2. Judges and judicial mediation (tribunals, courts)
3. Growing private market for mediator intervention (often a part of “organizational consultancy”)

4. inertia and ‘impotence’ …
THE mEdiation of collective conflicts in France … 4 elements which are mutually reinforcing …
ambivalence …
( … of crucial groups)
inertia and ‘impotence’ …
( … facing institutions, Laws, norms of negotiation and ideologies)
Marginality …
Despite the rise in popularity of mediation (and its availability on the market), despite work inspector conciliation), there is no “mediation system”
Shared pessimism (or Realism ?) nationally …
( … inevitability of blocked negotiations, painful or impossible reforms & large scale social movements ?? )

5. THE mEdiation of collective conflicts in France … 4 elements which are mutually reinforcing
National climate of “pessimism / realism” …
Ambivalence
Mediation
“marginality”
Inertia &
‘impotence’

6. trends and challenges …
trends & challenges:
trends and challenges …
CAN Mediation take up a bigger place and itself change industrial relations and negotiation practices in an innovative manner ?
-Economics … where is mediation supply and demand going?
-Politics … IR system reform has become a huge political issue over the past few years (now taken up by new Pres. Macron and his successful movement “En marche !”).
-Can that boost or enhance the place of mediation in the IR system?
-NEEDED:
More Simplification … and MORE pragmatism (less ideology) …
Rethinking the roles of labour inspectors …
Implementing better incentives to use mediation …
Building More open & trust-based dialogue between leaders …