The Confédération générale de la production française (CGPF) was created at the initiative of Étienne Clémentel.
The CGPF claimed to represent all employees, but in fact was mainly controlled by large industrial concerns with headquarters in Paris, particularly metallurgy companies, and was weak in areas such as commerce and banking.
[9] The International Labor Office said of the CGPF that, "In practice ... the General Confederation of Production is, beyond doubt, only a permanent meeting place for the heads of different federations; its power is ephemeral, inasmuch as it depends on their consent, and yet considerable, if, by the exchange of views, it brings about unanimity between them.
[10] The growing power of the General Confederation of Labour (CGT: Confédération générale du travail) forced the CGPF to transform itself into a more effective organization.
He said, I do not think that we are on the eve of disturbances in the streets, but M. Blum is going to take power sooner or later and I think that, while not despairing of the fate of our country, we must know what we are going to do...In practice one of two things [will happen): either the socialist experiment will succeed and it will be a matter of knowing what we can do to avoid passing completely under the absolute control of a totalitarian state, or this experiment will not succeed, and then, it will end up with bloodshed ... in either case, it will be necessary to reduce the damage to a minimum, I do not say avoid it.On 7 June 1936 Alexandre Lambert-Ribot, secretary general of the Comité des forges, signed the Matignon Agreements to end the general strike that had ensued.