The annual May Day marches were marred by clashes, as Paris police fired tear gas at protesters, who responded with projectiles.
By James McAuley James McAuley Foreign correspondent focusing on French and European politics and culture Email Bio Follow May 1 at 11:48 AM PARIS — Thousands of protesters marched through the streets of Paris and other French cities Wednesday in a May Day labor demonstration, an annual event that carried unusual venom in the era of France’s “yellow vest” movement.
The May Day protest is a routine occurrence in France, a staple of life in one of Europe’s proudest welfare states. Violent skirmishes between police and protesters also come with the territory and are reported every year. But this year, normal labor demonstrations have coincided with a long-simmering protest over social inequality.
“I condemn in advance all the gratuitous violence that will be carried out,” said Laurent Berger, head of the French Democratic Confederation of Labor , one of the country’s largest unions. “This has nothing to do with international Labor Day,” he added in an interview on France’s BFM television.
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