May Day Protests

[Merlin]

There are more May Day protests this year across Europe, and bigger.

Riot police working overtime as unions and anarchists link arms for May Day

2 May [Times] Protesters turned traditional May Day demonstrations into a rallying call against global capitalism as unrest spread through city streets across Europe yesterday.

Politicians in Germany and France had been warning that the financial crisis was about to spark social unrest. In some towns the words became reality, even if the skirmishes and petrol bombings felt choreographed.

“We want social disturbances, upheaval, and we will do everything towards that end,” said Markus Bernhardt, a spokesman for Class Struggle Bloc, which helped to steer the riots. “The system is violent and now violence is being met by violence.”

Unions estimated that 484,000 people took part in 400 protests across Germany. ....

A force of 5,000 German police officers found it difficult to contain the rioting. Officials said 48 officers were hurt and 57 people detained. .....

In France the usually fractious trade unions agreed to hold united rallies. Police said that almost half a million protesters had taken part in marches nationwide. .....

In Istanbul officers used teargas and water cannon to prevent protesters entering Taksim Square. ... Police said more than 100 youths ended up in cells there and in Ankara.

There was little to separate the words of the trade unionists and the anarchic fringes, with the global recession seemingly radicalising the leaders of the unions as they attempt to exploit popular anger. .....

In Spain, where about 40,000 people joined marches in Madrid, Málaga and Barcelona, there was a call from Ignacio Fernández Toxo, the leader of the CCOO union, to stage a general strike if the Government did not consult unions over its plans for tackling the recession. José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, the Prime Minister, took the precaution of joining a rally in Madrid even though the marchers were protesting against the supposedly cosy relationship between the Government and business.

Popular unrest has helped to unseat governments in places such as Iceland and Latvia, and there have been recession-driven protests in Bulgaria and Greece. Although the May Day protests did not pose an immediate threat to incumbent governments they were regarded as a warning shot.

In Germany, where the economy is predicted to shrink by 6 per cent this year, the speed with which unemployment is rising is increasing the support for the left-wing party Die Linke, which has a foot in Parliamant and a foot in the anti-capitalist movement. ...

[Merlin]

Outside continuent Europe, there are also May Day protests, some violent, in other parts of the world, like Britain, Ireland, Russia, Japan, S Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Hong Kong, etc.

On the other hand Cuba as expected keeps to the traditional May Day Parades and celebrations.

May Day: Cubans Stage Patriotic March in Havana

HAVANA, Cuba, May 1 (acn) Hundreds of thousands Cubans commemorated May Day, International Workers´ Day, with a huge march on the historic Revolution Square in this capital city, as they once again expressed their determination to keep firmly defending the Socialist Revolution. The demonstration was presided over by Cuban President Raul Castro.

Cubans celebrate May Day in Havana (11 pictures)

[Merlin]

By now the situations in Europe are better known. Among these May Day demonstrations in Europe, a few has turned violence, in Germany, Greece and Turkey. Fortunately those in France and Spain are in general peaceful. But situations may change for the worse after night fall, or in subsequent days.

Annual May Day protests turn to violence

2 May [FT] Traditional May Day demonstrations turned violent in several countries yesterday as workers took to the streets round Europe to voice their anger at the failure of governments to halt rising unemployment and other hardships caused by the global economic crisis.

Police clashed with demonstrators in Turkey, Greece and Germany, using tear gas to repel protesters throwing rocks and petrol bombs through shop windows. However, the violence in those countries appears to have been sparked by fringe elements hijacking peaceful protests.

By early evening, demonstrations in Spain and France appeared to be peaceful, though they too revealed a deepening social division fuelled by the crisis. "There are too many inequalities between the people with money and workers," said a factory worker demonstrating in Paris, where trade unions were united in protest for the first time since the second world war.

Protesters warned social tension would intensify if governments proved unable to respond to the growing malaise. Martine Fournier, a 62-year-old French municipal worker marching in Paris, said: "I want a general strike. Nothing can be worse than what we have today."

In spite of a generally festive atmosphere, French authorities remained vigilant and were preparing for the traditional clashes that often come when night begins to fall.

In Berlin, about 5,000 police were expected to be deployed in preparation for a potential rerun of the violent clashes that have marred Germany's May Day celebrations for several years. Anarchists threw bottles and stones, attacked bus shelters and set fire to cars and rubbish bins. ....

[Merlin]

Unrests in Europe are not as disruptive as that in May 1968, but they have has gone more active, more widespead and more diversified amid the global economic downturn.

Anarchy in the EU - Protest is once again on the rise in Europe
19 May [Janes] Forty-one years later, and the spirit, if not the fervour, of May 1968 lives on. Then, over a month of student-led protests and a general strike crippled France and popular Marxist revolution appeared a real possibility in a Western European country.

This year, France experienced 283 protest rallies on Labour Day in cities from Marseilles to Bordeaux, Grenoble and Paris. Although not as dramatic as 1968, the estimate by one of France's largest trades unions of 1.2 million protesters was five times higher than the protests in May 2008.

In addition, compared to 1968, the 2009 Labour Day protests were more widespread throughout Europe. On 1 May in Germany, union leaders estimated 484,000 people demonstrated in 400 rallies across the country. In Berlin, 237 police were injured after running battles with stone-throwing activists, leading to 289 demonstrators being arrested and five cars torched. In Istanbul, more than 100 protesters were arrested and dozens of people injured as supermarkets and banks were deliberately targeted. In Athens, rioting was dispersed by tear gas, and in Linz in Austria, 20 people were injured and five arrested.

This violence was unrepresentative of the majority of peaceful demonstrations that occurred on 1 May, which is a traditional day of socialist, worker and union-led protests. Nonetheless, the geographic spread of the violence and diversity of motivations behind it reflected an underlying trend: revolutionary and protest movements have become more active across Europe amid the global economic downturn. ....