Mayday! Mayday!

"C'est pas trop logique, mais on le fait quand même." The cashier in our local supermarket was looking forward to a weekend on the sofa as everything closes down for Labour Day, the Fête du Travail.

Literally everything closes. There are no trams or buses. Supermarkets are closed. Even our local pharmacy is closed. The city becomes beautifully quiet.

Or it would, if there was not also a demonstration each year on 1 May. I don't think it's a demonstration about anything in particular. It's just the Manifestation de la Fête du Travail.

This year it kicks off at 10:30 and will follow quite a long route around the centre of the city. The demonstration is one thing. It will be peaceful and orderly, if a little noisy. However the usual fans of anti-capitalists and anarchists will tag onto the end of the march and engage in pitched battles with the police.

As for us Daveys, if the weather is clement we might take a little walk along the right bank.


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