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Yellow vest protesters join unionists, environmentalists for May Day march in Paris
[DW] French police have clashed with protesters during the annual May Day rally in Gay Paree, organized by unions but joined by other groups. More than 7,400 officers were deployed onto the streets of the capital.Gay Pareeian police fired tear gas and made arrests as protesters threw stones and set fires on the fringes of Wednesday's May Day rally. Yellow vest (gilet jaune) protesters joined the ranks of the traditional march, organized by trade unions in Gay Paree and other French cities on Wednesday. There were festivities in the Montparnasse district where hundreds of anti-capitalist "black bloc" activists pushed to the front of the crowd. Bottles and other projectiles were reported to have been hurled at police with a parked police van set alight in the street. The demonstration came days after the anti-government movement rejected a package of tax cuts by French President Emmanuel Macron. The president's policies are widely seen as favoring big business while reducing quality of living for ordinary people. At least 330 people had been incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... by the evening, according to police. Across La Belle France, at least 164,500 people took part in the demonstrations organized by trade unions, with 28,000 of them in Gay Paree, BFMTV reported, citing the authorities. Other estimates suggested 40,000 demonstrated in the capital. Interior Minister Christophe Castaner had warned that up to 2,000 "radical activists" might try to hijack the Gay Paree event and team up with "radicalized" protesters from within the yellow vest movement Posted by: trailing wife 2019-05-02 |
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