Pauline describes her studies as linear. She specialized in labor law during her Master's degree and discovered research while preparing her dissertation. As she was interested in this discipline and in research, she decided to do a PhD with a doctoral contract: « Preparing a PhD was a great opportunity to continue research, with funding, while taking my first step into working life. »
An innovative thesis topic
In 2017, Pauline started her research works on labor law at the COMPTRASEC (Centre de Droit Comparé de Travail et de la Sécurité Sociale) at the University of Bordeaux. Her thesis is entitled "Fundamental rights of employers", an innovative topic: "Numerous works have brilliantly analyzed the contribution of fundamental rights to the protection of employees. In my thesis, I'm studying the fundamental rights of employers. It's a particular approach and it may seem paradoxical to grant fundamental rights to companies."
Starting from this idea, she first questioned the very possibility for an employer to hold fundamental rights and reported on labor law evolution. Secondly, she analyzed how employers' fundamental rights could impact the logic of labor law. She also analyzed fundamental rights by freedom, and the impact of employers' freedoms, particularly economic freedoms, on labor relations.
"At first, people were surprised and showed curiosity about my thesis topic. It's often assumed that fundamental rights and companies are incompatible. One might also think that my thesis is a defense of the employer's rights, but that would be a shortcut. More specifically, my thesis provides an analytical point of view of this evolution and its possible negative impact on labor law."
An enriching experience
7 years of research, teaching and events... For Pauline, despite the different emotions associated with carrying out a PhD, the experience was a positive one. During her PhD, she was in charge of teaching courses, became passionate about teaching and discovered her vocation. Qualified as a lecturer, she now wishes to work as a teacher-researcher. "Teaching feeds on research and vice versa. Contact with students is also very important to me."
The collective aspect was also important during her PhD: “Both at my research center and during collective research projects or seminars... I met a lot of people and it enriched my experience.”
Winner of the Doctoral School of Law's thesis prize
After graduating in 2024, Pauline was awarded the Doctoral School of Law's thesis prize in April 2025. This was a great recognition, both professionally and personally: "I'm very honored. This prize gives me the certainty that the academic world can be very interested in my thesis. From a personal point of view, it also symbolizes the accomplishment of my work. From my relatives' point of view, my whole PhD experience was long and not always easy to understand. This prize represents something tangible for them."
I would like to thank my thesis supervisor, my research center, COMPTRASEC, and the University of Bordeaux for this experience!