Paris on May 1

I have been in Paris on 1 May - admittedly a very long time ago, hopefully for you things have changed. It is a day of protests and rallies, and clashes between different political groups. We got caught up in a Le Pen rally and could not get out of there fast enough (long story). I can't say where is a good place to avoid but someone here will know the hotspots. Other than that, everything else is closed or on a holiday schedule. Not my favourite time to visit Paris; perhaps a day to have an excursion out of the city. Check the opening hours of Versailles or Monet's garden at Giverny.

Lavandula

Bus and train schedules will probably be different than everyday.

@Lavandula
Was that by any chance in 2002 when the second round of the presidential election was right after May 1st? There were marches to support the candidates or against a candidate. Union marches. My family participated. No problems.

The thing is that at the end of every march, young men dressed in black will damage property and fight the police. But if someone wants to see a march, just don’t hang around for the end to pass by because that’s when young people dressed in black cause trouble.

No, it was in 1999. That's why I was hoping someone else would chime in here, because a lot of things can change in 25 years. But I feel pretty safe in talking about the political rallies. They do this in Germany too. Not that I am normally in Europe in May, but it always seemed a better option to me to stay out of town on 1 May!

We blundered into the Le Pen rally and when we worked out who it was for, the whole rally started moving in the direction we were trying to leave in. Just horrible!

Lavandula

We flew into Paris on May 1st 2019. It was the year of the Jaune Gilet protests. Even though many of the government building were blocked off, the beautiful weather brought everyone out to enjoy. It was very much a pleasant party atmosphere with lots of families celebrating. The TV posted where the protests were, Place de Republique, so it was easy to avoid the area, We loved the chance to see how the holiday was celebrated.

There are 3 major holidays in France when much will be closed: 1 Dec, 1 Jan, and 1 May. Public transportation will operate with reduced schedules. Restaurants and cafés will generally be open.

Thank you for your replies. I appreciate you all taking the time to give me a better idea of what to expect.