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In 1983 and 1984, the Mauroy government, which had just confirmed its choice of economic austerity, faced a serious crisis in French industry. Through the study of two specific cases (layoffs within PSA and the genesis of the 1984 public industry restructuring plan), this article stresses the government’s helplessness in coping with the social and political consequences of this crisis. It tried to promote social negotiation, but suffered a serious failure against Peugeot’s management. It wanted to avoid a social conflict in the public sector, but did not prevent a strong protest in the Lorraine steel industry. This industrial crisis fueled divisions within the French left, but without leading to an ideological clarification.