Established in 1946 as an anarcho-syndicalist alternative to the main trade union centre, the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), it brought together tens of thousands of workers around the country.

Over time, many of its members began to withdraw from the organisation and join the FO, which caused division between the CNT and its erstwhile allies.

During the 1980s, a renewed interest in anarcho-syndicalism led to the CNT experiencing a resurgence in activity, culminating in its participation in the 1995 strikes in France.

The roots of anarcho-syndicalism in France can be traced back to the General Confederation of Labour (CGT), a national trade union centre founded in the 1890s.

[2] Revolutionary socialists split off from the CGT, forming the Unitary General Confederation of Labour (CGTU), although this quickly fell to infighting between its communist and syndicalist factions.

[4] In 1926, anarcho-syndicalists split off from the CGTU and established the Revolutionary Syndicalist General Confederation of Labour (CGT-SR), which lasted until the outbreak of World War II in 1939.

[8] For a brief time, the CNT united tens of thousands of workers from throughout France, mostly concentrated in the cities of Bordeaux, Marseilles, Paris and Toulouse.

[10] When the Workers' Force (FO) was established in December 1957, the FA immediately saw the new trade union centre as a threat to the nascent CNT.

He hoped that together they could form a trade union confederation that was independent of political parties and capable of providing an alternative to both the CGT and the FO.

[17] On 19–20 November 1948, the CNT, CAS and revolutionary minorities of the CGT and FO attended a National Conference of Autonomous Unions, held on Rue Scribe [fr] in the 9th arrondissement of Paris.

[20] The CNT participated in the new labour cartels that were established through the country, taking leadership positions in Gironde and Maine-et-Loire, and gaining a particularly strong influence in Aude.

[25] This caused a rupture with its regional unions in Bordeaux and Toulouse, as well as in its railworkers' industrial federation; Maurice Joyeux withdrew from the organisation over the decision, lamenting that syndicalist "clannishness" had limited the activities of the CUAS.

[26] From 30 October to 1 November 1949, the CNT held an extraordinary congress, which confirmed its decision to split from the CUAS and ordered dissident sections to withdraw from the cartels.

[28] Despite attempts to consolidate the syndicalist unification process, persistent sectarian tendencies caused the eventual break up of the cartels.

[32] Even leading figures like Jean Boucher, Maurice Joyeux and Fernand Robert joined the FO, which they saw as the only viable trade union centre.

[34] During the 1980s, widespread disillusionment with the socialist government of François Mitterrand, combined with a wave of strike actions, renewed interest in anarcho-syndicalism and autonomous trade unionism.

The SUD took up a revolutionary syndicalist platform, organised itself according to a federal structure, practiced workers' self-management and maintained its independence from political parties.

[45] One member of the CNT-F in Lyon expressed concern that the organisation was dominated by white men, which "doesn't truly reflect the composition of our society".

[48] The CNT-F has been chategorised as having an optimist orientation, which allows it to accept having a more tightly coordinated internal structure and collaborating with non-anarchists in broader social movements.

[53] Over the subsequent decade, the CNT-F reported extensively on the autonomous trade union movement in Algeria and organised in support of striking Algerian workers.