Mouvement des Entreprises de France

The Mouvement des entreprises de France (MEDEF), or the "Movement of the Enterprises of France", is the largest employer federation in France. Established in 1998, it replaced the Conseil national du patronat Français (CNPF), or the "National Council of the French Employers", which was founded in 1946.

It has more than 750,000 member firms, 90 percent of them being small and medium enterprises (SMEs) with fewer than 50 employees. MEDEF is engaged in lobbying at local, regional, national, and EU-wide levels.

Every year, MEDEF International organises a number of delegations of French business leaders with tangible projects to targeted countries, especially developing countries. MEDEF espouses “sustainable development”, raising companies’ awareness to the fact that environmental protection can also feature among their competitive advantages.

Its current president, nicknamed the “boss of the bosses”, is Pierre Gattaz, CEO of Radiall, elected in 2013. He succeeded Laurence Parisot, CEO of IFOP, elected in 2005, who was the first woman to lead the MEDEF. Pierre Gattaz is the son of Yvon Gattaz, who was president of the CNPF in the 1980s.