Politics and unemployment organisations in France

In recent years French unemployment organisations have been relatively successful in fusing the energies of the unemployed for political purposes and in harnessing public sympathy for their cause. This achievement has been hailed in some quarters as an example of organisations overcoming political impoverishment. This article argues that the involvement of the organisations in politics has not come without important caveats, both in terms of the political significance of that involvement and in terms of the political ‘militancy’ of unemployed people. The article assesses the political significance of the 20‐odd‐year political activities of French unemployment organisations.