Overview
- Lawmakers in the National Assembly are set to examine a Senate‑passed bill this week that would define which businesses may employ staff on May 1.
- A TF1 legal fact‑check says the claim that chains like McDonald's may open while artisan bakeries may not is misleading under current law.
- The Labour Code allows work on May 1 only for activities that cannot stop, and employers must prove that their operation meets this exception.
- Workers who do clock in under a valid exception receive their normal pay plus an equal extra payment, which amounts to double pay for the day.
- The push follows fines for five Vendée bakeries in 2024 and their acquittals in April 2025, with senators Annick Billon and Hervé Marseille winning Senate approval in July 2025.