More than 100,000 people march for Labor Day in France: there have been incidents with police and detainees

More than 100,000 people took to the streets of Paris and other cities in France to march for Labor Day. For the second year in a row, unions are protesting at times of spread of COVID-19, but this time social mobilization takes on classic tones in the street. In the capital, there are at least 17 detainees.

Unions and students called for unit mobilizations throughout France under a common flag: “Fair and lasting solidarity“.

They are calling for better working conditions, an end to the destruction of jobs in the public services and an end to the state of emergency. The “yellow vests” are also in the streets accompanying the massive demonstrations.

The march in Paris started off smoothly until early local afternoon there were bullfights and the police repressed to deter the most violent protesters. In Nantes, the troops threw water on the demonstrators.

At 2:30 p.m. local time, the union procession left for Paris. The columns went from the Plaza de la República to the Plaza de la Nación. The number of people in this demonstration increased due to other processions that came out earlier and in other places of the capital.

More than 200 detainees in Turkey

Turkish police arrested more than 200 people and used tear gas disperse protesters in Istanbul on May 1, amid a total lockdown to stem the coronavirus.

Istanbul governorate reported in a statement that 212 people were arrested when they tried to enter Taksim Square, which since yesterday has been sealed off by heavy security measures.

Other union and union sources bring the number of detainees to around 230.

Taksim Square is a symbolic place for the left and the trade union movement in Turkey after the bloody incidents of May 1, 1977, when ultra-nationalist groups opened fire on the gathered people and killed around 40 people.

The morning, small groups representing major unions joined Taksim to commemorate the 1977 massacre and placed flowers on a monument dedicated to the victims.

Later, Left-wing supporters and university students also tried to enter the square through various entrances, but were blocked and many of them detained by riot police and plainclothes police that have been used with force.

The inmates carried posters supporting the workers’ struggle and shouted slogans such as “Taksim can’t shut himself off from people“Y”Long live our fight for May 1st“.

Turkish media also report arrests in other cities Turkey of people who wanted to commemorate May 1st. In the capital, Ankara, police arrested at least four people, while in Izmir at least eight were arrested.

Turkey introduced a full lockdown this week through May 17, which requires staying at home and closing schools and some businesses to stop infections.

COVID-19 caused 394 deaths on Friday, 16% more than Thursday and a record number since the start of the pandemic in the country.

KEEP READING: