Convergence of struggles

The convergence of struggles is a concept that emerged in the trade unionism and social movements of France to denote the confluence of different groups with different demands in a common movement. It aims to bring together different struggles in a common social movement.

Social movement in France with protesters carrying a banner calling for general mobilization (December 2019).

Definition and Characteristics

Political scientist Jérôme Fourquet, director of the Opinion Department at the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP), presents the convergence of struggles in these terms: "It is necessary for broad segments of the population to recognize themselves in the struggle waged by another segment." According to the French Minister of Higher Education, Frédérique Vidal, "it is a slogan and an old dream for some."

For the French political columnist Thomas Legrand, it is an "old dream of revolutionary essence that arises in every period of social tensions"; however, "we should speak rather of coexistences of struggles that have advanced scattered demands, but that have never achieved, at least in the 20th century, a total overthrow of power."