From France to Britain: Workers rally worldwide to mark Labour Day

Thousands of people joined May Day protests across France on Sunday to demand social justice and salary increases and to push newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron to drop his plan to raise the retirement age.

Turkish riot police detained dozens of protesters trying to reach Istanbul's main Taksim Square for May Day demonstrations against economic hardship caused by raging inflation.

The Istanbul governor's office had allowed May Day celebrations to be held in another district and deemed gatherings in all other locations as unauthorised and illegal.

Thousands of Greek workers took to the streets in protest on Sunday over high prices and energy costs plaguing households as the conflict in Ukraine takes its toll on European economies.

According to police some 10,000 protesters marched in the capital and gathered outside the parliament building for May Day, the international workers day used to call for better wage and labour conditions. Island ferries and public transport also came to a halt as part of strikes by some workers.

The protest on Sunday followed another demonstration on April 6 over the cost of living as inflation has reached record highs.

After suffering a decade long financial crisis that wiped out incomes and caused record unemployment, followed by the coronavirus pandemic that hit the country’s vital tourism industry, Greeks are now faced with high prices and costs from soaring energy prices driven by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

Members of various labour unions take part in a May Day rally to mark the international day of the workers, in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

The Britannia Coconut Dancers of Bacup, wearing controversial makeup colouring "blackface", dance outside The Crown Inn to celebrate May Day in the village of Bacup in north-west England on May 1.

Traditionally Morris dancers perform as the day breaks on May Day morning to celebrate the first day of summer.
 

Russian state TV shared footage of a May Day rally held in Moscow by the Communist Party. City and regional committees of the party gathered at Theater Square, according to the TV report.

Communist leader Gennady Zyuganov congratulated all workers on the 'Day of Unity' and urged them to support the efforts of the Russian military to defend the residents of Donbas.

Thousands of Cubans made their way to Havana's Revolution Square on Sunday (May 1) for the traditional May Day celebrations, attended by President Miguel Diaz-Canel who looked on with former President Raul Castro.

Following a two-year hiatus as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year marks the return of the nation’s most important holiday after Jan. 1, the victory day of former leader Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution.

Like in many other countries around the world, May 1 is recognized as Labour Day in Cuba.

Cuba has marked International Workers' Day since 1890, though massive rallies in Revolution Square took off in earnest after the 1959 revolution.

Berlin's Mayor Franziska Giffey (C) reacts as a security member with an umbrella smashes an egg that got thrown at her by an audience member as she delivered a speech on stage in front of the Brandenburg Gate on May Day (International Workers' Day) during a protest rally organised by the German Trade Union Confederation (DGB) in Berlin on May 1.

Activists and supporters of Free Trade zones and general employees union take part in a May Day rally near the president's office in Colombo on May 1.

Protesters of the march demanded the resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his cabinet, blaming them for creating the country's worst economic crisis in decades.

Demonstrations have roiled the South Asian island nation of 22 million people for weeks, with people protesting at shortages of fuel and other items and prolonged power cuts.

Thousands of people gathered in Seoul for a rally to mark May 1st International Labour Day on Sunday.

In the South Korean capital, workers marched from Sungnyemun Gate near Seoul City Hall to the office of President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol's transition team.

While most of Latin America celebrates Labour Day on May 1, the rural town of Otumba, Mexico, dedicates a festival to their hard-working donkeys.

In the 16th-century rural town in the state of Mexico, donkeys are kings for a day as residents and visitors celebrate their "burros".

Thousands of families turned out for the traditional Donkey Day to attend donkey races, polo matches, and a costume competition.