The Author goes through the evolution of French labour law in the 1985-1995 decay. On the background of occupational diffi-culties, weakness of unionism and political shifts between left and right wings governments capable of influencing labour law, the Author analyzes the role of legislation, of collective agreements and of case law. The evolution of labour law shows complex and non univocal features. In fact, the trend towards flexibility is flanked by both the preservation and sometime the improvement of the traditional protective techniques, and the reaffirmation of fundamental individual rights.