Description
Les Scop is the website of the Confédération générale des Scop et des Scic (CG Scop), the federation of French worker cooperatives (Scop) and multi-stakeholder cooperatives (Scic). In a Scop the employees own the company: they hold at least 51 % of the capital and 65 % of the votes, and elect their managers on the rule of one person, one vote. It is an alternative to companies owned by distant shareholders, where employees have no say.
The law splits a Scop’s profits three ways: at least 25 % goes to all employees, members or not, at least 16 % goes into reserves that can never be shared out among members, and dividends are capped at 33 %. Outside investors can hold no more than 49 % of the capital and 35 % of the votes. Well-known Scop include Groupe Up (formerly Chèque Déjeuner), the cable maker Acome, the monthly Alternatives économiques, Ethiquable and Le Relais.
At the end of 2025 the movement had 4,583 member companies, 2,732 Scop and 1,421 Scic, with 94,745 jobs and about €10.3 billion in turnover. Five years after starting, 80.9 % of Scic were still in business in 2024, against 61 % for French companies as a whole. The site offers a directory of the cooperatives, job offers, and advice for founding a cooperative or for employees taking over a company when its owner retires, with support from regional unions.
Strengths
- A directory of cooperatives lets buyers and job seekers find a Scop or Scic in their region and trade.
- Advice and dedicated funding for founding a cooperative, or for employees who want to buy their company when the owner leaves.
- The law gives employees at least a quarter of the profits and locks at least 16 % in reserves no member can take out.
Weaknesses
- The site is written for founders and professionals; a consumer looking for a cooperative to buy from has to dig through the directory.
- Turning a company into a cooperative takes time, a committed team and employees willing to put money into shares.
- The Scop status covers ownership and governance, not what a company produces or how much it pollutes.
Who it is for
Employees whose employer is retiring or selling, founders who want to share ownership from the start, and buyers or job seekers who want to work with an employee-owned company.
Sources
- The official site les-scop.coop blocks automated reading; its press release on the 2022–2025 results was found through a search, November 2026
- CG Scop: les chiffres Scic 2024
- Assemblée nationale: hearing of the CG Scop
- Wikipédia: Société coopérative et participative
- Bpifrance Création: Scop