On Monday, April 13, the Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou, reiterated that May 1st was “the only day to be holidayed, rested, and paid”. He believed that “this general principle should continue to prevail even if some derogations are possible”, following a meeting on the subject with unions.
Former Prime Minister Gabriel Attal and LR leader Bruno Retailleau criticized the executive’s decision not to move forward with a bill on working on May 1st. Attal regretted that the government did not “keep its commitments”, while Retailleau denounced its “repeated capitulations”.
“It will be necessary to revisit the underlying causes of the political and technocratic absurdity of this situation, and what this debate says about the obstacles hindering our country,” wrote Gabriel Attal, who had advocated for a text allowing certain local businesses to hire staff on May 1st.
“This text was not a text against anyone, but a text for freedom, for work, for purchasing power, for our craftsmen,” he added.
According to a parliamentary advisor speaking to BFMTV, anger reigns within Gabriel Attal’s camp. So much so that the former Prime Minister skipped the weekly meeting with Sebastien Lecornu at 7 p.m. at Matignon. Within Renaissance, it was deemed unnecessary to replace him.
“The only day to be holidayed, rested, and paid”
“Once again, faced with union and left-wing pressures, the executive retreats. France needs political courage, not repeated capitulations,” also expressed Bruno Retailleau.
The Minister of Labor, Jean-Pierre Farandou, reiterated on April 13 that May 1st was “the only day to be holidayed, rested, and paid”. He believed that “this general principle should continue to prevail even if some derogations are possible”, following a meeting with representative trade unions.
Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu “decided not to convene the joint committee” which was supposed to reconsider the text on working on May 1st for adoption after being tactically rejected in the chamber on Friday.
“The government is aware of the particular sensitivity of this issue,” stated Jean-Pierre Farandou after the meeting with representative trade organizations.
“May 1st will be completely traditional”
Strongly denounced by the unions, the proposed law on May 1st was intended to allow employees to work in local food stores like bakeries, pastry shops, greengrocers, butcher shops, florists, as well as in cultural establishments (cinemas, theaters).
Thanks to the reject motion, the text could be adopted without MPs examining it in the first reading, after a Joint Committee was quickly convened to make it effective by next May 1st, as desired by the executive.
CGT leader Sophie Binet was pleased that the minister “heard the warnings from trade unions”. “This May 1st will be completely traditional,” rejoiced Yvan Ricordeau, deputy general secretary of the CFDT.
