Journal article: The authors examine wages and working conditions in meat processing and confectionery in France. Working there may not require much skill, or command good wages and working conditions, but this article reveals a more complex, positive situation than expected, thanks to the "French model's" national minimum wage and the extension of collective wage agreements to all workers in the sector. But pressures to lower labour costs are still felt, and the firms examined must meet pressures to increase productivity, flexibility and automation. Moreover, retail chains also seek to lower prices and impose just-in-time production.