Travailleurs

Travailleurs is the plural form of travailleur, meaning worker or laborer in French. It refers to people who perform work in exchange for wages or salary, across sectors including agriculture, industry, services, and intellectual professions. The term emphasizes the activity of work and is often encountered in discussions of the labor force, employment conditions, and relations between workers and employers.

In sociological and political contexts, travailleurs can signify members of the working class or the labor force in general, and it is common to pair the term with inclusivity, as in travailleurs et travailleuses to acknowledge both genders. The word is frequently used in discussions about rights, unions, and social protections for those who work.

The concept has deep historical roots in industrialization and the rise of labor movements in the 19th and 20th centuries. Trade unions formed to defend wages, hours, safety, and social protections for travailleurs. Today, the term remains common in discussions of labor markets, employment policy, and workers’ rights, across francophone countries.

Legal definitions vary by jurisdiction and may intersect with categories such as employees, contractors, and self-employed workers (travailleurs indépendants). In certain contexts, related terms like employé and salarié are used to describe specific employment statuses. In historical or political writing, la classe ouvrière or le prolétariat may be used to refer to the broader social grouping associated with wage labor and industrial society.