French police have taken into custody some 35 people in connection with May Day demonstrations on Wednesday in Paris, where authorities say they expect several thousand “radical activists” among the labor union marches.
Some 7,400 police officers have been deployed in the French capital in anticipation of the protests. Among those arrested overnight were three Spanish nationals, who were placed in custody over possession of gas masks, flammable products and weapons, police told local media France Bleu Paris.
The protests take place at a time of heightened social tensions in France, where the Yellow Jacket movement — which first started in November in response to French President Emmanuel Macron’s planned hike on fuel tax — has staged anti-government protests in Paris and across the country for 24 weekends in a row.
Interior Minister Christophe Castaner said the high police deployment came in the wake of calls on social media to turn Paris into a “riot capital.” Castaner said he expected “1,000 to 2,000 radical activists” to join the Labor Day demonstrations, adding that their ranks could be “reinforced by individuals coming from abroad who could attempt to sow chaos and violence.”
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A woman faces French riot police officers | Zakaria Abdelfaki/AFP via Getty Images
Climate activists and members of the Yellow Jackets are also expected to demonstrate in the French capital on Wednesday, where police said they expect between 25,000 and 35,000 protesters. Large demonstrations are also set to take place in Bordeaux, Toulouse, Rennes, Montpellier and Nancy.
Bars, shops and restaurants along the Paris protesters’ planned route have been ordered to stay closed during the demonstrations, which are slated to start mid-afternoon at Montparnasse and make their way toward Place d’Italie. Protesters have been banned by police from gathering at the Champs-Elysées, the Elysée Palace, the National Assembly and the area around the Notre Dame cathedral.
French left-wing MP and former European Parliament member Jean-Luc Mélenchon accused the interior minister of fearmongering, reminding Castaner that May 1 has always been a day for demonstrations.
“What is new [on Labor Day] is not violence, it already existed last year,” Mélenchon said. “What is new is the coming together of the traditional workers’ movement, the trade union movement and the spontaneous, insurrectional movement of the Yellow Jackets.”
Wednesday also marks the one-year anniversary of the start of the so-called “Benalla affair.” The scandal erupted last July, after video footage emerged of an ex-presidential bodyguard, Alexandre Benalla, donning a police helmet and punching a protester in the head and neck at last year’s May Day demonstrations. Benalla’s actions and the apparent leniency shown toward him by top Elysée officials sparked widespread outrage in France and have continued to plague Macron’s administration.
