“Social anger is indeed present”: thousands of people demonstrate in France on Wednesday on the occasion of May 1, with various demands made by the unions for wages, peace, Gaza and even a Europe “more protective”.
Marseille, Lyon, Rennes or Toulouse, the first processions, often with Palestinian flags in addition to those of the unions, set off in the morning.
In the run-up to the European elections on June 9, several political leaders were involved, such as Fabien Roussel (PCF) in Lille and Manon Aubry (LFI) in Lyon. In Saint-Etienne, the head of the PS and Place publique list Raphaël Glucksmann was prevented from joining the procession after paint was thrown and insults from a few dozen activists. An eviction that the leader of La France insoumise Jean-Luc Mélenchon said he “totally” disapproved of.
Among the first processions, that of Marseille brought together around 3,000 people, according to the police, and 8,000 according to the CGT, under a gray sky, behind a banner proclaiming: “Mobilized for peace and social progress”.
In Rennes, the demonstration attracted 1,400 demonstrators, according to the prefecture, while in Nantes, there were between 4,000 and 5,000, noted an AFP journalist. Around noon, the first damage took place.
In Lyon too, between 6,500 (prefecture) and 13,000 (CGT) marched. At least 17 people were arrested after damage and tensions with the police.
In Toulouse, there were 3,000, according to the prefecture, 8,000, according to the organizers. The parade, in the rain, was held amid union flags, as well as Palestinian flags. “Stop the war, increase wages” or “against precariousness”, we could read on signs.
May 1 demonstration, May 1, 2024 in Bordeaux / Philippe LOPEZ / AFP
In Paris, the demonstration must start at 2 p.m. from Place de la République towards Place de la Nation. In a fairly broad unity, since the CFDT and Unsa will be with the CGT, FSU and Solidaires.
Before the departure of the Parisian procession, CGT number one Sophie Binet notably highlighted “the refusal of social destruction policies” and the defense of freedoms, including union freedoms.
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 still peace.
The first French union, the CFDT, for its part called for people to “join the processions organized throughout France, to demand a more ambitious and more protective Europe for workers”. Its number one Marylise Léon was to go to Nancy, where she will participate in a debate on the issues of the European elections.
“more complicated”
His FO counterpart, Frédéric Souillot, was in Montauban, in Occitanie, and in the capital the activists were to demonstrate separately from the Place d’Italie at midday.
Last year, the eight main French unions (CFDT, CGT, FO, CFE-CGC, CFTC, Unsa, Solidaires, FSU) marched together against pension reform.
“There obviously, it’s more complicated,” Benoit Teste (FSU) admitted on BFMTV, while emphasizing like Marylise Léon, earlier on France Inter, that the appeals are signed “quite widely” locally, particularly in Paris.
In this context, at the national level, “120,000 to 150,000” demonstrators are expected, according to a note from the territorial intelligence services, consulted by AFP.
This is significantly less than last year when the mobilization brought together nearly 800,000 demonstrators, according to the authorities, and 2.3 million, according to the CGT, well beyond a classic May 1st. For comparison in 2022, the police had counted some 116,000 demonstrators (in the usual range of between 100,000 and 160,000) and the CGT 210,000.
According to feedback from the CGT, mobilization is “a little bit higher than May 1, 2022. (…) Social anger is indeed present,” affirmed Sophie Binet.
An LFI activist carries a Palestinian flag during the May 1 demonstration on May 1, 2024 in Nantes / LOIC VENANCE / AFP
In Paris, between 15,000 and 30,000 people are expected by the authorities, including 400 to 800 radical demonstrators.
But the authorities generally expect “more peaceful” demonstrations than last year. According to police sources, 12,000 police officers and gendarmes will be mobilized, including 5,000 in Paris.
