When the strike encounters the sans papiers movement: the discovery of a workers’ repertoire of actions for irregular migrant protest in France

Abstract

Between April 2008 and June 2010, France witnessed an unprecedented wave of strikes by irregular migrants. At its height, almost 7000 workers occupied enterprises, temporary work agencies and employer federations. Through a sequential analysis of this movement, this article seeks (1) to identify the resources provided by the strike to irregular migrant protest, (2) to trace the emergence and the innovations in the strike repertoire and (3) to account for the leading role played by the CGT trade union. It argues that the strike represents a significant and distinctive extension of the traditional mode of sans papiers protest as it relied on specific means of collective action and groups of actors. It is the recognition by the constituent actors of the repertoire that has allowed the union to take the leadership in the movement.