May Day is a serious matter

May Day is a serious matter

[ May 2016 ] On the second day of our stay in Bordeaux in France, we had another walk in this city which is listed in the Unesco World Heritage. First, we went to St. Andre Cathedral which was described as the first thing to see in our guide book. But what I was surprised at was not the cathedral but the May Day march along the street next to the cathedral. It was a very long line, so much so that we thought all of the Bordeaux people would have been demonstrating. In France, the right of the workers are protected very well and this march reminded me of the fact that the employees in Paris offices were treated much better than the ones in London offices of the same company. May Day seemed as important as Christmas there. The tower next to the cathedral where we could have climbed to the top was closed. It is closed only on the New Year, Christmas and May Day. The public transport in the city was all shut down on the day, too, so the streets were quiet. In fact, the tourist office had sent me the warning about the transport issues a few days before.

We went in to the cathedral only briefly, because they were in the middle of the Mass. I only took a couple of photos quietly.