French PM fuels row with trip to buy baguettes

7 hours agoJaroslav LukivAFP via Getty ImagesSmiling French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu paid for several baguettes in front of news cameras in a village bakeryFrench Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu has visited a village bakery to buy several baguettes on Labour Day, reigniting a row with unions who argue that 1 May should remain a compulsory rest day."Let's have several... at least four," he said, paying at the bakery in Saint-Julien-Chapteuil, central France. The politician also bought some flowers from a nearby florist.The visit was part of a government drive to exempt independent bakeries and flower shops from mandatory rest on Labour Day - a public holiday across the country.Under French law, only essential services such as hospitals and hotels may be open, with employees being paid double wages. The status of bakeries and flower shops is unclear.In response, Marylise Léon, the General Secretary of France's leading union, said: "Politicians going to a bakery, I think that's part of a political spectacle that we don't need today. We need to show what the reality of a bakery worker is like". On Friday, Lecornu also phoned another baker, who had received a fine from labour inspectors for staying open on 1 May.The