Shops smashed, cars torched in May Day riots in Paris

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About 200 protesters were arrested on Tuesday after a peaceful May Day rally in Paris descended into chaos with masked rioters smashing shop windows, and torching cars and a McDonald’s restaurant.

Shouting "Rise up, Paris" and "Everyone hates the police", around 1,200 people in black jackets and face masks joined the traditional May 1 union-led demonstration for worker's rights, according to a count by Paris police.

The protesters, who also hurled cobblestones at riot police, were from far-left anarchist groups known as Black Blocs, police said.

Tear gas floats around masked protesters during clashes with French CRS riot police at the May Day labor union rally in Paris, France, May 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

Hiijacking the labor unions’ May Day rally against President Emmanuel Macron's economic reforms, they set a McDonald's restaurant ablaze near Austerlitz station and torched vehicles at a car dealership, leaving a trail of destruction and plumes of dark smoke billowing into the air.

They also ransacked shops and scrawled anti-capitalist graffiti on walls.

The police eventually used tear gas and water cannons to disperse the demonstrators.

Around 200 people were arrested, police said, while four people were lightly injured in the clashes, including a police officer, according to Paris police chief Michel Delpuech.

CRS riot police officials stand next to a damaged McDonalds resteraunt during a demonstration on the sidelines of a march for the annual May Day workers' rally in Paris, May 1, 2018. /VCG Photo

Macron, who was on a visit to Australia, reacted on Twitter: "I condemn with absolute firmness the violence that took place today and derailed the May Day processions."

"Everything will be done so that the perpetrators are identified and held responsible for their actions."

Read more: Why do the French love to strike?

The scenes of looting and destruction overshadowed the May Day march, which drew between 20,000 and 55,000 peaceful protesters, according to police and union estimates.

Countrywide, around 143,000 people took part in labor marches, according to government estimates, up slightly from 2017.

David Le Bars, a police union official, told BFM TV that security services in Paris had decided to let the protesters smash things rather than engage them to avoid casualties on either side that could exacerbate tensions.

People take part in the traditional May Day rally, May 1, 2018, in Lyon, France. /VCG Photo

The worst unrest in months in Paris comes at a time of heightened tensions and mounting union discontent with Macron's plans to reboot France's economy and spur job growth by loosening labor regulations.

Trade unions and students' unions have been trying to rally the French against Macron's shake-up of indebted state rail operator SNCF and access to public universities, which they see as part of a rollback of France's cherished public service.

But the energetic 40-year-old, who vowed during campaigning to make France more competitive, has insisted he will not budge from his course.

"I'm doing what I said I would," he said during a recent television interview to mark the first anniversary of his election on May 7.

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Source(s): AFP ,Reuters