The next ‘day of action’ in the long-running French pension protests will be Monday, May 1st, but most unions are not calling for strikes – and are instead trying to get as many people on the streets as possible in marches and demos.

However, air traffic controllers have been taking part in rolling strikes, and the Direction générale de l’aviation civile (DGAC) has warned that this will result in disruption from the evening of Sunday, April 30th to 6am on Tuesday, May 2nd.

In a statement, the DGAC said it had asked airlines running flights in and out of Paris-Orly, Marseille-Provence, Lyon, Bordeaux, Nantes, and Toulouse airports to reduce their flight schedules on May 1st by 33 percent.

Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Nice and Beauvais airports will cancel 25 percent of flights. 

#Perturbations | Mouvement social national interprofessionnel du 1er mai 2023. pic.twitter.com/w44eeoF6fF

— Direction générale de l'aviation civile 🇫🇷🇪🇺 (@DGAC) April 26, 2023

It’s also possible that disruptions could hit ‘overflights’ – those flights that pass over French airspace during their journey.

Cancellation and compensation: How French strikes affect European flights

Anyone with a flight booked is advised to contact their airline for more details. 

So far it appears that services including trains – including the Eurostar – and French city public transport will run as normal on Monday. May 1st is a public holiday in France, and much of Europe. 

Demos and flowers: What to expect in France on May 1st 2023