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Founded in December 1944, the National Association of Social Assistants with a State Diploma (ANASDE) proclaimed in its title its determination to defend the need for a professional qualification for social assistants. By strongly affirming its differences from previous organizations, it fought for the independence of the profession both from the state and from the ruling classes. Strongly engaged in defending the unity of the profession, ANAS behaves in two ways: both as a professional group and as a trade union. Confronted with public and private employers who increasingly hire more social assistants, ANAS has constantly defended its professional independence while proclaiming that it must remain dedicated to the interests of service users.