Social Enterprise in France

Abstract

Social enterprise (SE) is a notion that is little discussed in France, by comparison with other national contexts. This chapter briefly reviews the history of these various socio-economic practices, identifying their different phases of institutionalisation and giving some hints to understand their current coexistence and the institutional compromise that constitutes the social and solidarity economy. It builds upon the EMES approach to social enterprise, identifies three models or ideal types of what could be regarded as social enterprise in France—even though the term is not often used by the organisations themselves—and the main tendencies that researchers in the field consider as important. It then analyses how these models differ from or, conversely, are linked to the tradition of the social and solidarity economy, which dominates today in the French context. In fact, it takes different forms, situated between three "poles" that characterise the current French situation: the social economy, the solidarity economy and social entrepreneurship.