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2014 was declared the year of family farming by the United Nations. This form of organization of agricultural production can be defined as an intertwining of the farming and family unit. In the French context, the authors propose a definition that is mainly based on the proportion of wage labor compared to family labor. An analysis of the farms’ workforce, capital ownership and land access conditions shows that, despite the structural evolutions of French agriculture, it remains mostly based on family farming. If paid labor progresses in relative value and is stable in terms of manpower, family labor remains predominant in 95% of French farms. The mechanism that sees the mostly farmer-owned production capital replacing labor is still at work.