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TheFederation of the National Education (Fédération de l'Education nationale orFEN) was a French federation of teachingunions.
It succeeded theGeneral Federation of Teaching (Fédération générale de l'enseignement) founded in 1929 and affiliated to theGeneral Confederation of Labour (Confédération générale du travail or CGT). AfterWorld War II the CGT split, and the reformist wing createdWorkers' Force. In 1948, the teaching federation voted to leave the CGT and become independent. A minority of members retained dual membership with the CGT, and formed a newCGT Federation of Education.[1]
The FEN was dominated by the group called "Unity, independence and democracy" close to theSocialists. The minority groups were "Unity and action", influenced by theCommunists, and "Emancipated school" close to thefar left.
The FEN was nicknamed the "fortress of teachers" and advocatedsecular education. Its power and mobilization capacity were dreaded by the government, but it imploded due to its political divisions. At the beginning of the 1990s, faced with the growth of "Unity and action", the Socialist majority proposed that the union should affiliate to a non-CGT national union confederation. The unions dominated by "Unity and action" were ejected and founded theFédération Syndicale Unitaire (FSU, United Trade Union Federation).
The FEN and other reformist unions ofcivil servants created theNational Union of Autonomous Trade Unions (Union nationale des syndicats autonomes or UNSA). In 2000, the FEN becameUNSA Education. However, UNSA Education today represents a minority in the teaching world and has largely been surpassed by the FSU.
The largest affiliates were:
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