Overview
- Debate on January 22 ended without a vote, leaving the measure’s fate undecided for now, according to Franceinfo on January 23.
- The bill, already passed by the Senate in July, targets bakeries, pâtisseries, greengrocers, butchers, fishmongers, florists and some cinemas and theaters, with large retail explicitly excluded.
- Current law makes May 1 a mandatory paid holiday, and employers risk fines for using staff that day in non-exempt businesses.
- Supporters, including LR rapporteur Thibault Bazin, present the text as legal clarification of existing practices rather than an effort to expand staffing.
- Major unions in a joint front oppose the change, warning that so-called volunteer shifts can be coerced and that a narrow exception could broaden over time.