“This May 1 will be the biggest social problem in the last 30 or 40 years,” Berger said.
According to the union, from one million to one and a half million people can participate in the processions throughout the country. The Interior Ministry traditionally forecasts more modest numbers: half a million to 650,000, which is still a lot, because the number of protesters usually falls short of a third of the most conservative expectations for this year.
The head of the French Interior Ministry, Gerald Darmanin, said 5,000 gendarmes would ensure the safety of the May Day procession in Paris alone, according to the official, a historic number.
