Muguet is the French word for the flower known in English as lily of the valley. There used to be a perfume by Coty named Muguet des Bois

Pentecost Monday offically becomes a holiday again this year througout France (although the law hasn't been voted yet, it will be before May).

In exchange, everybody in France loses one day of vacation. Don't even try to understand.

Will labor be in a bad mood because their government isn't in power?

Do you think all labor unions in France support the left? There are plenty of them that support the government -- of course, those unions will not be marching.

No need for a bad mood -- the government was just crushed in the municipal and local elections, so people are feeling better about things. The president is down to a 37% approval rating and still going down.

Tomorrow he begins a remedial class in behavior with a state visit to the UK with his new wife. Whatever happens will be worth 2 or 3 percentage points up or down.

Weirdly enough given its reputation, France has one of the lowest rate of unionizing (or maybe even *the* lowest rate) in Europe. May 1st labor union marh gathers less and less people as time go by, ad I'm not sure it's going to be impresive.

As for "muguet" you're supposed to offer it to people you care for, and it's supposed to bring good luck. It's also overpriced.