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| From France to Indonesia, Marking May Day With Protests | From France to Indonesia, Marking May Day With Protests |
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| It began as a pagan commemoration of the transition to summer from spring, replete with maypole dancing. For many Christians, it kicks off a month devoted to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. But for most of the world these days, May 1 is best known as International Workers’ Day, a general occasion for political protest. (A notable exception is the United States, where Labor Day is celebrated in September.) Here is how Monday unfolded around the world. | It began as a pagan commemoration of the transition to summer from spring, replete with maypole dancing. For many Christians, it kicks off a month devoted to the veneration of the Virgin Mary. But for most of the world these days, May 1 is best known as International Workers’ Day, a general occasion for political protest. (A notable exception is the United States, where Labor Day is celebrated in September.) Here is how Monday unfolded around the world. |
| More than 70 people were detained as they tried to march to Taksim Square in central Istanbul to demand better pay and working conditions, defying a ban on May Day events. The country has moved in a sharply authoritarian direction under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He successfully campaigned to expand the powers of the presidency with a referendum amending the Constitution last month. | More than 70 people were detained as they tried to march to Taksim Square in central Istanbul to demand better pay and working conditions, defying a ban on May Day events. The country has moved in a sharply authoritarian direction under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He successfully campaigned to expand the powers of the presidency with a referendum amending the Constitution last month. |
| The Berlin police arrested several demonstrators who marched through the fringes of a street festival in the city’s Kreuzberg neighborhood, for years the site of protests and violence during May Day rallies. The police said about 8,000 people took part in the march, some of whom lobbed bottles and fireworks at officers clad in riot gear keeping the demonstrators from the revelers. | |
| Earlier in the day, 14,000 people marched elsewhere in Berlin under the banners of the German Federation of Trade Unions, calling for a reduction in the number of temporary contracts that companies can offer and for guaranteed social benefits for all employees. The march was one of hundreds organized by unions across the country that have faced dwindling membership in recent years. | |
| Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions marched in Seoul holding red umbrellas, which symbolize the right of workers to form labor unions. Among their demands: that companies stop using temporary employees. The trend of circumventing traditional labor protections by classifying workers as independent contractors or as freelance labor is a major theme of the protests. | Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions marched in Seoul holding red umbrellas, which symbolize the right of workers to form labor unions. Among their demands: that companies stop using temporary employees. The trend of circumventing traditional labor protections by classifying workers as independent contractors or as freelance labor is a major theme of the protests. |
| Members of the Communist Party-affiliated All-Workers Militant Front held a 24-hour nationwide strike and protests against looming spending cuts that were demanded by the country’s creditors in return for a third government bailout. Nearly a decade after the start of the global financial crisis, Greece continues to grapple with a debt burden that many economists view as unsustainable. | Members of the Communist Party-affiliated All-Workers Militant Front held a 24-hour nationwide strike and protests against looming spending cuts that were demanded by the country’s creditors in return for a third government bailout. Nearly a decade after the start of the global financial crisis, Greece continues to grapple with a debt burden that many economists view as unsustainable. |
| Thousands of workers marched toward the presidential palace in Jakarta to demand that the government raise minimum wages, limit outsourcing, provide free health care and improve working conditions. Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation, is trying to build a robust middle class. | Thousands of workers marched toward the presidential palace in Jakarta to demand that the government raise minimum wages, limit outsourcing, provide free health care and improve working conditions. Indonesia, the world’s fourth most-populous nation, is trying to build a robust middle class. |
| Protesters marched in traditional May Day rallies across the country. France will hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday, and the two candidates — Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister — campaigned vigorously on Monday. One clash was violent: Several officers were hurt as masked youngsters throwing firebombs fought with the police, who used tear gas. | Protesters marched in traditional May Day rallies across the country. France will hold a presidential runoff election on Sunday, and the two candidates — Marine Le Pen, leader of the far-right National Front, and Emmanuel Macron, an independent centrist and former economy minister — campaigned vigorously on Monday. One clash was violent: Several officers were hurt as masked youngsters throwing firebombs fought with the police, who used tear gas. |
| Workers marched in Nairobi on Monday. As in much of the developing world, they are becoming a potent political force, with former agricultural laborers moving to sprawling cities for jobs in manufacturing and in service industries. | Workers marched in Nairobi on Monday. As in much of the developing world, they are becoming a potent political force, with former agricultural laborers moving to sprawling cities for jobs in manufacturing and in service industries. |