MAY 1, 2024. 25 people have already been arrested in Paris, on the sidelines of the procession. 260 rallies are expected for Labor Day this Wednesday.
In Paris, the meeting was held at 2 p.m. this Wednesday, May 1, at Place de la République and the demonstration route was directed towards Place de la Nation, passing Boulevard Voltaire. CGT, CFDT, Unsa, FSU and Solidaires are at the origin of the procession which expected between 15,000 and 30,000 people yesterday according to a police source. The fear of seeing a few hundred radical demonstrators – 400 to 800 “risk elements” – was also palpable during the preparations.
Ahead of the May 1 demonstration, the police headquarters announced a restricted traffic system, between the Places de la République, de la Bastille and de la Nation, boulevards du Temple, des Filles du Calvaire, Beaumarchais, Diderot, from rue de Lyon and avenue Daumesnil. The prefecture strongly recommended that motorists avoid the area widely for the duration of the event, from 10 a.m. Wednesday morning.
Just under 260 demonstrations have been scheduled in France for May 1, 2024. Parades have been planned in all major cities, but not only that. Here is the list of the main processions listed by the CFDT:
This year, the May Day protests were the subject of particular intelligence attention. According to Le Parisien, they estimated between 120,000 to 150,000 the number of participants in the processions this Wednesday, therefore 15,000 to 30,000 to walk the streets of the capital. A confidential note would have underlined a “tense geopolitical context”, with the Olympic Games approaching, a conflict which continues in Ukraine, but also and above all the war in Gaza which is beginning to cause tensions in France.
If the pro-Palestinian student mobilization is in people’s minds, forecasts have nevertheless announced a smaller and less violent mobilization than in 2023, the fight against pension reform being at its strongest or almost at its strongest at the time. Some 400 to 800 “risk elements” were still feared by the authorities on the eve of the demonstrations, mainly linked to the ultra-left, while no ultra-right movement had yet been detected. BFMTV assured Tuesday that information anticipated “limited” abuses this year and that “this event does not as such present a proven risk in terms of public order”.
