French police clashed with individuals described as "anarchists," dressed in black, in Paris and other major cities during demonstrations organized by labor unions protesting President Emmanuel Macron's pension age increase. Workers across Europe participated in Labor Day marches today, May 1st.
In today's protests, the French government announced that 291 demonstrators were detained and 108 police officers were injured. In the French capital, protesters threw projectiles at the police, set bicycles on fire in the streets, and vandalized bus stations as a march organized by a labor union began from the Place de la République in central Paris. The call to gather at the "La République" square coincided with large-scale rallies for Labor Day.
The gatherings are among the largest according to estimates from authorities and unions, with 300 marches announced across the country. Labor unions stated that around 550,000 participated in today's demonstration. In terms of security, French police deployed over 12,000 officers and announced they would use drones for increased surveillance, particularly to curb expected acts of chaos. Unions called on authorities to "not restrict or suppress demonstrators."
Television footage also showed unrest in Lyon, where vehicles were set ablaze and some corporate offices were damaged. A fire broke out in front of a local government building in Nantes, in the west of the country.
In the rest of Europe, protests led by unions were organized throughout Germany. In Italy, the three major labor unions held a march in Potenza in southern Italy protesting the labor package approved by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government. In Turin, a government protest featured demonstrators holding a puppet resembling Meloni performing a fascist salute. In Switzerland, police reported that during a parade in Zurich, demonstrators threw water-filled balloons at emergency services, shattered the windows of at least two banks, and sprayed some buildings with paint.
