Anger and resignation
The lasting gloom that settled over the industrial world from the mid 1970s challenged social harmony and occasionally threatened labor peace. Fears about employment led to tougher forms of protest and broke the taboo on strike action. “Blue-collar” and “white-collar” workers were not always united against management. While the vulnerability of companies was sometimes the result of questionable entrepreneurial strategies, it was above all the result of an overall economic situation unfavorable to local industry. In response to growing relocations, the defense of local jobs sometimes brought together all political parties in an united effort to protect an entire region.