As in other countries, May 1 is Labor Day, a celebration of worker rights, and employees have the right to the day off. An exception exists for essential businesses and services, such as hospital workers. So, the issue is less about whether bakeries can open on Labor Day and more about whether bakers should ask employees to work.

Over the years, a baker’s “need” to stay open has been open to interpretation. Some bakers remain open, selling goods they baked the day before, while some owners open without staff. Some employees reportedly show up to work, albeit voluntarily and paid. Some bakers open if they provide prisons or retirement homes with bread. Others open anyway. And it has been this way for decades.

So, if bakers have flouted the rules for years, why the fuss now? 

This time last year, inspectors unexpectedly fined five bakeries in the Vendée region of France because their employees worked on May 1. All were recently acquitted because the legal team was able to argue that it was a tolerated practice, and the legal wording was open to interpretation. 

But it has kicked off a debate that has been rumbling for years. Bakers complain of the risk of unannounced inspections and unfair, heavy fines if they open on Labor Day.

A boulangerie is still central to the French way of life. The French eat an estimated 320 baguettes every second, half a baguette per person daily, and 10 billion annually. According to a 2017 government report, half the country lives within 1.4 miles of a bakery “as the crow flies. ” In cities, 73% of the population lives within less than half a mile. 

Bread is forever tied to French history and its revolution via Marie Antoinette’s infamous quote “Let them eat cake” (although it’s commonly thought that the phrase is “Let them eat brioche”—and that she didn’t say it). French philosopher Rousseau used it in 1767, probably to describe the aristocracy in general. But ever since the revolution, the notion of every French person having access to bread has been enshrined in law.

Bread needs to be made on the premises to be considered a boulangerie, and a baguette is only a baguette if it has only four ingredients: flour, water, yeast, and salt. It is baked in a steam oven to achieve a crispy texture. Since the 1920s, baguettes must weigh between 250 to 300 grams and be no longer than 65 centimeters. In 2022, the baguette was added to the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage because it requires a specific skill and knowledge to make and is integral to French culture.

To try to solve the baking quandary, French Union Centrist (UC) senators have tabled a new bill to “allow employees of certain establishments and services to work on May 1st.” This bill is primarily aimed at bakeries but also applies to similar businesses, such as florists.

The bill aims to remove legal ambiguities and allow businesses to open as they can on Sundays, should they choose to. Advocates argue that bakers should be able to guarantee an “essential local service” while paying more to people who choose to work on those days.

Catherine Vautrin, the French minister of labor, supports the notion, telling France24 that “the government will support this initiative because it protects the rights of citizens and meets the expectations of bakers and other essential workers.” She believes it will bring legal clarity, but stipulates that employees must decide to work voluntarily.

Trade unions are unhappy. They believe it calls into question the nature of the day itself; that it undoes the progress, as reported by Le Monde, that unions have made since the 19th century. Many unions fully support inspecting premises and possibly issuing fines. These fines range from €750 to €1,500 per employee caught working.

For many bakers, there is a business imperative to open on May 1: Some bakers can sell more bread than on a typical business day. For example, the Maison Collet bakery in Paris can sell 1,300 baguettes and 1,000 pastries on May 1, compared to 800 and 360 on regular business days.

French consumers seem divided on the issue. Some hope to continue protecting the rights of workers enshrined in law, while others believe the rules that worked in 19th-century France might not apply to the modern 21st-century workforce, society, and consumer behavior.

It might only be something that a change in law can resolve.