The May 1 demonstrations were marked in 2023 by a united front against pension reform. This year, the main unions are calling to hit the streets on Wednesday, May 1, with various demands. For this International Workers’ Day, the CGT lists more than 265 rallies and demonstrations in France, in the range “high”, according to Confederal Secretary Céline Verzeletti. Some processions will start at 10 a.m. such as in Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Strasbourg (Bas-Rhin), or even Clermont-Ferrand (Puy-de-Dôme). Follow our live stream.
Varied demands. The CGT, FSU, and Solidaires, as well as youth organizations including Unef, Fage and MNL (National High School Movement), have launched a joint appeal in particular “against austerity”, for employment and wages or even peace. The first French union, the CFDT, for its part called for “join the processions organized throughout France, to demand a more ambitious and more protective Europe for workers”. “May 1st is an opportunity to remember that all the rights we enjoy today did not fall from the sky. They were snatched away by social struggles and unions”declared Sophie Binet.
Some 150 demonstrators expected. On a national level, “120 000 to 150 000″ demonstrators are expected, according to a note from the territorial intelligence services, consulted by franceinfo. A figure down sharply compared to last year when the mobilization, in the midst of protesting the pension reform, brought together nearly 800,000 demonstrators, according to the authorities and 2.3 million, according to the CGT. This was eight to ten times more than in 2022, when the police counted some 116,000 demonstrators (in the usual range of between 100,000 and 160,000) and the CGT 210,000.
Pro-Palestinian activists in the processions? They could come to swell the ranks of the processions, particularly in Paris, and the “critics” of the Olympic Games could benefit from this free platform, according to French information. However, the authorities generally expect demonstrations “with a rather festive and family character” And “more peaceful” than last year, when the day was marked by sometimes violent clashes in the capital and other cities such as Nantes or Lyon.