RMC INFO. 22 bakers and pastry chefs fined for opening on May 1st

Twenty-two bakeries and pastry shops were fined for opening on May 1st. By law, these businesses are prohibited from operating while employing their employees, even if they volunteer.

They were not allowed to open on May 1st, a holiday for Labor Day, if they had their employees working . According to the Ministry of Labor, 18 bakeries and 4 pastry shops were fined on May 1, 2025, out of a total of 35,000 points of sale in France.

"It's shameful to have come to this, it's truly relentless," Marilyne and Yannick Rassin, two bakers who had insisted on opening on May 1st before being fined , denounced on RMC. "We can't take it anymore, we're killing small businesses, we're preventing people who want to work

"We don't know what fine we'll get, but we're thinking we'll have to pay. It's really a blow," they added.

Bakers can open on May 1st, but they are prohibited by law from employing their employees. A bakery that employs its employees on May 1st risks a fine of €750 per employee, even if the employee volunteers and is paid double. The fine can double if the employee is an apprentice under 18. If bakeries are fined, this fine does not necessarily mean a fine.

There are exceptions if no employees work other than the business manager and if it is impossible to interrupt the activity.

On May 1st, while many businesses remain closed, some bakers claim to be making 20% more turnover than on a normal day.