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Professional relations “à la française” underwent a significant change of their rules in 2008. This paper analyzes the debates that led to this reform as well as the way it was produced. The reform was negotiated between labor unions, employers, and the state. Two characteristics of the implementation of the reform—measuring the audience of labor unions and transparency related to their financing—show that the objectives have not yet been reached. Participation in professional elections remains contrasted and in decline; the union environment was not simplified; the transparency of union financing is only a formality; sub-unionization continues… Obviously, no fundamental changes occurred in spite of the shake-up of the legal rules. It raises questions about the reality of the “renovation of the social democracy” that was planned.