Book excerpt: This book is a study of contemporary changes in French employment relations and management. It includes an overview of the origins of the present employment institutions and practices as well as a critical appreciation of French work sociology, but its main focus is on the evolution of the French political economy of work at the start of the 21st century. Based on a combination of original research and findings from recent studies into French employment relations and the working practice of French firms, it provides both an essential source for comparative purposes and an original approach to understanding change.