Every year, International Workers’ Day brings into sharp focus a political and social landscape of Europe that no other public holiday manages to portray with such force. In the streets of Paris, Madrid, Berlin and Warsaw, trade union processions, political parties, organisations and ordinary citizens breathe new life into a day born out of the bloodshed of workers’ struggles.
Yet behind the apparent obviousness of 1 May, the reality is far from uniform: the day is not a public holiday everywhere in the European Union, its significance is not universally understood, and it is the subject of recurring challenges in the name of the economy, “competitiveness” or the political rewriting of history. In 2026, as Europe grapples simultaneously with inflation, a crisis in purchasing power, a realignment of the right and the rise of the far right, International Workers’ Day serves more than ever as a barometer of the tensions sweeping across the continent.
The status of 1 May in the European Union
The first surprise for readers accustomed to the French calendar is that, within the European Union, International Workers’ Day is not a statutory public holiday everywhere. A large majority of Member States, twenty-four out of twenty-seven, recognise 1 May as an official day of rest, sometimes even as a mandatory paid holiday. However, several specific cases illustrate national differences.
In Denmark, 1 May is not a public holiday enshrined in national law. The day is nonetheless steeped in symbolism: employees are often granted the afternoon off under collective agreements or company practice, and trade union rallies remain a common feature. In the Netherlands, too, 1 May is not a national public holiday. Some employers grant a day off, but working remains the norm in a country where other dates, such as Koningsdag (King’s Day), occupy the symbolic and public-holiday space.
Conversely, some countries go further. In Slovenia, 1 and 2 May are public holidays, extending International Workers’ Day into a genuine period of social and spring celebrations. In Ireland, the approach is different again: the country does not make 1 May a fixed public holiday but celebrates May Day on the first Monday in May, as a movable public holiday. This simple shift shows that the symbolic significance of International Workers’ Day can be combined with specific national traditions.
In several countries, notably France, Spain and Poland, 1 May is explicitly designated as a public holiday. In France, its special status is even enshrined in the Labour Code: it is the only public holiday that must be a day off for workers, except where this is technically impossible in certain sectors. Elsewhere, whether it is a de facto day off depends more on collective bargaining and sector-specific practices.
The international origins and Europeanisation of International Workers’ Day
To understand the current political significance of International Workers’ Day, we need to go back to the late 19th century and look beyond the strictly European context. It all began in the United States, with the struggle for the eight-hour working day. On 1 May 1886, a general strike was organised in Chicago and several other major American cities. In the days that followed, tensions came to a head at the Haymarket Square rally: a bomb exploded, the police opened fire, people were killed, and several anarcho-syndicalist activists were sentenced to death following a trial widely denounced as politically motivated.
Three years later, in 1889, the Second International, meeting in Paris, decided to make 1 May a global day of action for the eight-hour day. The move was highly significant: it was a question of transforming an American tragedy into an international symbol and of establishing a calendar for the nascent workers’ solidarity movement. From 1890 onwards, May Day demonstrations were organised in several European countries, marking the first transnational spread of the labour movement.
The 20th century amplified this trend while also making it more complex. In revolutionary Russia, 1 May became a public holiday and the official Workers’ Day, a practice soon adopted by many socialist countries. At the other end of the spectrum, the Catholic Church, which saw this date as direct ideological competition, established the feast of Saint Joseph the Worker in 1955, also set for 1 May. The aim was clear: to offer a Christian and paternalistic version of the dignity of work, in contrast to a Labour Day associated with trade unions, left-wing parties and internationalism.
Over the decades, the day has become Europeanised of its own accord, not through a decision from Brussels, but through the spread of practices, images and demands. Posters, slogans and chants circulate from one country to another; calls for shorter working hours, pay rises, social security and protection against redundancies cross borders. May Day thus becomes one of the few political events that, from Athens to Dublin, tells a shared story.
The specific history in France
While Labour Day has a global reach, its history in France illustrates particularly well how governments have, in turn, attempted to stifle, co-opt or neutralise it. The first celebration of 1 May in France dates back to 1890. At the time, demonstrators wore a red triangle in their buttonholes, symbolising the “three eights”: eight hours’ work, eight hours’ rest, eight hours’ leisure.
The following year, on 1 May 1891, the small town of Fourmies, in the Nord department, became the scene of a tragedy. The army fired on striking workers who were marching peacefully. Ten people were killed, including two children. The “Fourmies massacre” left a deep mark on the collective memory of French and European workers. It gave 1 May a sense of sacrifice: the day was no longer merely a time for making demands, but also a reminder of state violence directed against workers.
At the beginning of the 20th century, the red triangle was gradually replaced by the red wild rose, and then by lily of the valley, a spring symbol that was already part of popular tradition. May Day thus came to lie at the intersection of social struggles and rituals marking the rebirth of nature. This ambiguity is a strength: it allows International Workers’ Day to be widely embraced while retaining its political significance.
Under the Vichy regime, the date took on a new form without losing its importance. In 1941, Pétain’s government officially established “Labour and Social Harmony Day” as a public holiday, in line with corporatist and authoritarian ideology. Free trade unions were suppressed and the right to strike was hollowed out, yet the regime sought to present itself as the protector of the “humble”. The co-opting of the day by a reactionary regime demonstrates just how significant a symbolic issue 1 May is.
After the Liberation, the Fourth Republic reversed this trend. In 1947, 1 May became a permanent public holiday, a paid day off, though it was not elevated to the status of a full national holiday. The name “Labour Day” was officially adopted the following year. Since then, the day has remained a key moment in French political life: a barometer of the health of the trade union movement, a stage for unity or rivalry between organisations, and an annual forum on the country’s social situation.
Traditions, symbols and customs in Europe
Across Europe, this day oscillates between a day of protest and a public celebration. The common features are striking: trade union marches, banners calling for pay rises, red or multicoloured flags, and a presence of political parties that varies in scale from country to country. Against a backdrop of inflation and the cost-of-living crisis, the slogans may change, but the core issues remain the same: living standards, social rights and working conditions.
The symbols, however, vary. In France, lily of the valley remains inextricably linked to 1 May, sold from stalls by trade unions, associations or authorised individuals on that day. In Germany, the maypole and certain village festivals bear witness to the persistence of older customs linked to spring. In the Nordic countries, Walpurgis fires and celebrations, often held on the eve of 1 May, also reflect this layering of rituals.
In several Member States, the law provides for compensatory arrangements when 1 May falls on a Sunday, in order to preserve the spirit of the day as a genuine day of rest. Elsewhere, demonstrations are sometimes followed by concerts, large community meals or local festivals, which contribute to a more convivial approach to the date. This blend of politics and celebration is not insignificant: it helps to renew participation and attract wider audiences without obscuring the social issues at stake.
Current challenges and criticisms of International Workers’ Day
While International Workers’ Day continues to structure the European social calendar, it is not immune to criticism. In several countries, a recurring argument highlights the “cost” of public holidays to the economy. Employers’ organisations and liberal think tanks regularly propose “modernising” national calendars: moving certain public holidays, scrapping others, or allowing greater flexibility, particularly for 1 May. Working on that day, with time off granted elsewhere, would, they argue, boost competitiveness.
At the same time, an ideological battle is being waged over the very meaning of the day. Right-wing and far-right forces are seeking to depoliticise or nationalise Labour Day. By promoting a narrative about the “value of work” detached from collective struggles, by organising their own rallies on the same day, or by glorifying the entrepreneur rather than the employee, they are attempting to capture part of the symbolic legacy of 1 May.
Depoliticisation can also take more subtle forms: a proliferation of commercial, sporting or festive events presented as “apolitical”; media coverage focusing more on the weather and traffic jams than on the demands being made; and the transformation of 1 May into a mere long weekend. Yet, in the face of this trend, the major European trade union confederations and social movements are seeking to reaffirm the significance of the date. International Workers’ Day is becoming a moment of convergence on increasingly transnational issues: a just ecological transition, soaring inequality, the deregulation of labour via digital platforms, and the rise of illiberal governments.
Thus, in 2026, 1 May is neither a rigid ritual nor a relic of the 19th century. It is a profoundly contemporary day on which the fundamental conflicts of our societies are replayed: the distribution of wealth, the place of work in our lives, the power of employees vis-à-vis companies, and the role of the state in social protection. In Europe, International Workers’ Day remains one of the rare occasions when these issues, often confined to reports and closed-door negotiations, take to the streets and inscribe themselves in the long arc of history.
Sources
- Le Grand Continent, “How is 1 May celebrated in the EU?”
https://legrandcontinent.eu/fr/2025/05/01/comment-le-1er-mai-est-iil-celebre-dans-lunion/ - Toute l’Europe, “Is 1 May a public holiday throughout the European Union?”
https://www.facebook.com/touteleurope/posts/le-1er-mai-est-il-f%C3%A9ri%C3%A9-dans-toute-lunion-europ%C3%A9enne - TF1 Info, “1 May: Is it also a public holiday in our European neighbours’ countries?”
https://www.tf1info.fr/international/tour-d-europe-1er-mai-le-jour-est-il-aussi-ferie-chez-nos-voisins-europeens-2368336.html - TF1 Info, “1 May: who is already allowed to work on this traditionally public holiday?”
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https://www.femmexpat.com/expatriation/le-1er-mai-en-expat-travaillera-travaillera-pas/ - History, ‘Workers’ May’
https://www.lhistoire.fr/le-mai-des-ouvriers - Wikiwand, ‘Labour Day’ (encyclopaedic summary)
https://www.wikiwand.com/fr/articles/F%C3%AAte_du_Travail - CGT, “May Day belongs to us!”
https://www.cgt.fr/actualites/france/mobilisation/le-1er-mai-est-nous
