Abstract
I decided to speak about employers' organisations in Britain because of a personal and very simple interrogation: I was actually wondering what the equivalent of the French MEDEF in Britain was. At first sight, I discovered quickly that this equivalent is the CBI, The Confederation of British Industry. However, looking at it more closely, this answer is not really satisfying. I think it is important to go further. Indeed, if the CBI is also the main employers' organisation in Britain, and even if the greatest part of its issues is shared with the MEDEF, the way it works is completely different. And this difference is mostly due to the huge difference between French and British economic system. I will try to summarize that point quite rapidly. That's why my first part is largely historical and deals with the roots of Anglo-Saxon economic system. In the second part, I will talk about the main issues the CBI defends and about its relations with the British government, especially with Blair's government.
