Police used tear gas to repel black-clad anarchists from robbing Paris businesses on Sunday as part of May Day protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s policies.
Many thousands joined May Day marches in France calling for wage increases and Macron’s abandonment of his plan to increase the retirement age.
The majority of the arrests were peaceful, but violence broke out in the capital. Police arrested 45 people, including a woman who assaulted a fireman trying out to put out a flame, Gerald Darmanin, Interior Minister, told a news conference. Darmanin said that eight police officers sustained injuries.
At the beginning of the march, near La Republique Square, and at its conclusion in eastern Paris’ La Nation Square, clashes broke out with police.
Anarchists from “Black Bloc”, ransacked the McDonald’s restaurant at the Place Leon Blum, and destroyed several real estate agencies by setting fire to their windows and setting waste bins ablaze.
The police responded with tear gas.
Around 250 rallies were held in Paris and other cities, including Lille, Nantes and Toulouse.
Trade unionists in the capital were joined by politicians – mostly left-leaning – and climate activists. The interior minister stated that more than 20,000 people participated in the event, an increase of 17,000 last year.
Macron’s main theme during the presidential election campaign was the cost of living. It will be the same in June legislative elections. Macron’s party must win these elections with its allies if they are to implement their pro-business policies. This includes raising the retirement age to 65 for those over 62.
Joshua Antunes, a student aged 19, said that it was important to demonstrate to Macron and to the entire political world that we are ready to defend our rights. He also accused President Macron of being “inactive” in regard to environmental issues.
Marchers carried banners that read “Retirement before Arthritis”, and “Retirement at 60. Freeze Prices”.
Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT union said that the government must address the problem of purchasing power by increasing wages.
After beating Marine Le Pen, a far-right candidate, Macron was elected president for a fifth term.
Jean-Luc Melenchon of the Far-left, who was third in the presidential election’s first round, attended the Paris march.
He hopes to unite the left, including the Greens to take over parliament and force Macron into awkward “cohabitation”. However, this has not happened.
Before the march began, Melenchon stated that “we will not make one single concession on pensions.”
He stated that he still believed an agreement could be reached to form a new left-leaning union by Sunday evening.
Marine Le Pen didn’t lay a wreath at Arc or Joan, her party’s national symbol, in Paris, unlike previous years. Jordan Bardella, the Rassemblement National Interim president, replaced her. He claimed that Le Pen was preparing to run for the legislative elections.
Le Pen appealed to voters via video message that they elect as many members of her party in June, so she could “protect their purchasing power” and stop Macron from “harmful projects for France and the French people.”
On June 12th and 19, the parliamentary elections will take place.
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