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In France, the effectiveness of social democracy has varied according to the size of companies. Throughout the 20th century, small companies in particular have largely remained outside of the movement of institutionalize social relationships. However the absence of union representatives or elected staff representatives is a recurring problem for lawmakers and other representative bodies. Recently, laws passed in August 2008 and October 2010 regarding union representation have created debate about the lack of social regulation in small companies. This article revisits the legislative history of the law of 2010 particularly. Consideration is given to a social and political sequence which reveals the coexistence of distinct conceptions of social democracy. These conceptions are neither formed along traditional partisan lines nor structured by the traditional opposition between labor unions and employers. Drawing on Jean-Daniel Reynaud’s regulation theory, the sequence in question is analyzed as a struggle between a liberal view which favors employers' autonomy and a regulation-oriented view which favors collective bargaining.