Labor exchanges: in several cities, unions are threatened with losing their premises

In Arles, as in Carcassonne, municipal decisions to reclaim or repurpose labor exchanges are provoking strong opposition from labor unions. These disputes are reigniting the debate on the protection of premises often made available free of charge by local authorities for decades.

In Arles, the administrative court ruled in favor of the municipality

On July 9, 2026, the Marseille Administrative Court rejected the appeals filed by the Arles CGT local union against the municipality's decision not to renew its occupancy agreement. The union must vacate the premises within two months of notification of the judgment, under penalty of a fine of 50 euros per day.

>

The CGT currently occupies approximately 400 m² within the Bourse du Travail (Labor Exchange). The City is offering them relocation to two offices of 11 m² each, a space that the organization considers insufficient to continue its activities under satisfactory conditions.

The municipality wishes to renovate the building to house the future tourist office, as part of the Action Cœur de Ville program. According to the decision reported by the City, this project serves a public interest and the proposed premises will ensure the continuity of union activities.

The mayor of Arles, Patrick de Carolis, welcomed a ruling which, according to him, eliminates any infringement on union freedom and allows the building's redevelopment project to proceed. The CGT union disputes this assessment and announced its intention to continue its mobilization efforts and explore all available legal avenues.

The CGT is calling for a national moratorium

On July 24, the CGT union asked the Minister of Labor for an immediate moratorium on the eviction of the local union in Arles, as well as on other similar projects. Jean-Pierre Farandou's office, however, indicated that the minister could not impose such a measure on a municipality, due to the principle of local government autonomy.

The General Code of Local Authorities authorizes municipalities and their groupings to make premises available to trade union organizations. The conditions of use can be defined by the mayor and specified in an agreement.

Article L. 1311-18 of the General Code of Local Authorities also stipulates that the withdrawal from premises occupied for at least five years may entitle the intermunicipal authority to specific compensation if no alternative solution is proposed allowing it to continue its operations, unless otherwise stipulated in the agreement. However, this provision does not guarantee continued occupancy of the original building.

Another conflict in Carcassonne

In Carcassonne, several trade union organizations are also contesting the decision of the National Rally mayor Christophe Barthès to end their occupation of the Bourse du travail.

The mayor claims to respect freedom of association, but criticizes the CGT, CFDT, FSU, and Solidaires unions for their political opposition to the National Rally. During the municipal council meeting on April 30th, he declared that "taking advantage of the generosity of those we criticize is over."

The organizations concerned denounce this as a retaliatory measure that infringes on their freedom of expression. They point out that some have been located in these premises for nearly 90 years and dispute the argument that they occupy them without valid legal right.

The dispute has led to several inter-union mobilizations. It was also raised in the Senate on May 20 by Senator Sébastien Pla, who asked the Government to intervene to guarantee the exercise of trade union freedoms.

A national mission on the future of labor exchanges

In response to the Senate, Jean-Pierre Farandou reiterated that the constitutional principle of local self-government limits the Government's means of direct action. The minister nevertheless criticized the decision made in Carcassonne and stressed the need to maintain local access for labor unions.

"Employees must have local access to trade union organizations."

Jean-Pierre Farandou, Minister of Labour and Solidarity, before the Senate on May 20, 2026

The government has entrusted Philippe Laurent, the mayor of Sceaux, with a mission to assess the state of the local labor exchanges, identify the practices of local authorities, and formulate recommendations for preserving this social and architectural heritage. According to the CGT union, this mission officially began on July 13th.

The five nationally and interprofessionally representative organizations—CFDT, CGT, CFE-CGC, FO, and CFTC—have called for the long-term security of premises and resources allocated to local trade union federations. They consider these facilities essential for the effective exercise of social dialogue.

The CGT put forward a figure of 60 threatened sites.

The CGT claims that 60 labor exchanges and union halls are currently under direct threat in France. This figure, which is not yet based on a detailed public census, will need to be compared with the conclusions of the government mission.

In 2024, historian Danielle Tartakowsky, author of the book "Les syndicats en leurs murs" (Unions Within Their Walls ), identified 34 threatened sites. This apparent increase encompasses different situations: non-renewal of agreements, reduction of floor space, relocation, property sale, or complete conversion of buildings.

Places rooted in working-class history

The first employment exchanges appeared at the end of the 19th century. They then provided a job placement function for workers by listing available job offers, before the creation of public employment services.

These facilities subsequently housed vocational training activities, legal clinics, libraries, and sometimes performance venues. Also known as union halls, they gradually became support centers for employees, job seekers, and retirees.

Their role in providing information and legal support remains particularly important in areas with a high concentration of small businesses and limited union presence within those establishments. Danielle Tartakowsky believes they thus contribute to combating "union deserts."

Redevelopment projects sometimes abandoned

The mobilization of trade unions has already led some local authorities to revise their projects. In 2025, the Paris Council notably opposed the conversion of the Bourse du Travail annex located on rue de Turbigo into social housing and an emergency shelter, a project supported by the Paris Centre town hall.

However, not all labor exchanges are now located in historic city-center buildings. In the 1970s and 1980s, several municipalities built new union premises near industrial areas and major employment hubs.

The mission entrusted to Philippe Laurent will notably have to determine how to reconcile the management of the real estate assets of local authorities, the needs of urban transformation and the maintenance of premises adapted to the missions of trade union organizations.