Destroyed cars, arrests, injured: In Paris there were riots on the day of work. Rioters mingled with the yellow vests that had joined the May rallies.
At rallies on 1 May, there were violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Paris. Near Montparnasse station, security forces used tear gas to disperse violent demonstrators.
The clashes took place on the verge of a union rally on Labor Day. Eyewitnesses report that hundreds of activists – many masked and dressed in black – mingled with the demonstrators of the yellow vests and the unions. Some insulted the police, threw stones at them, and smashed the windows of cars. Members of the so-called „Black Bloc“ called for Paris to be transformed into the capital of insurrection on May 1.
Numerous people dissipated
The Paris police claimed to have at least 380 people provisionally arrested. According to the Interior Ministry, 24 protesters and 14 security forces were slightly injured. Among the injured was a journalist from the Russian news agency RIA Novosti. The police beat her in the face and on her arm with a baton, though she wore a helmet and an armband that she identified as a press officer, she said. The Russian Foreign Ministry called the incident „unacceptable“ and called for a „meticulous investigation“.
The police had counted on 1000 to 2000 rioters. Accordingly, more than 7400 security forces were deployed in the capital. The quarters around Concorde Square and the Champs-Elysées were closed off. Along the planned demonstration route closed shops, restaurants and cafes.
The so-called yellow vests, which otherwise demonstrate on the weekend, joined the traditional May rounds this year. The authorities had warned against „radical activists“ and violent scenes. The yellow vests have been protesting against the reform policies of President Emmanuel Macron since November.
