MOSCOW, PARIS, LONDON (voa) – Thousands of people worldwide have marked the traditional workers’ holiday with May Day rallies and demonstrations.
In Moscow, tens of thousands of Russian trade unionists marched through the streets. Supporters of the Communist Party organized a separate march. Russian media reports say rallies were held in 500 cities and towns across the country, as union leaders demand a higher standard of living for workers.
More than a million people used May Day to demonstrate in cities across France protesting far-right presidential candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen. Earlier, about 10,000 Le Pen supporters marched through Paris to a square in front of the city’s opera. The protests come in advance of Sunday’s runoff election in which Mr. Le Pen will face incumbent President Jacques Chirac. Some 3,500 police officers have been deployed to keep that situation under control.
About 10,000 anti-capitalist and environmentalist protesters descended on central London. Tens of thousands gathered in the Italian city of Bologna to protest efforts by the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to make it easier for employers to dismiss workers.
About 10,000 people rallied peacefully in Berlin and thousands more marched through other German cities following violent clashes with police, Tuesday night, in the capital.
Demonstrators in Athens marched to the American and Israeli embassies expressing support for the Palestinians against Israel.
Earlier, police in Sydney, Australia, detained about 14 protesters after clashing with demonstrators opposed to the government’s policy of mandatory detention of illegal immigrants. Human rights groups say police in the Malaysian capital, Kuala Lumpur, broke up a demonstration by plantation workers and arrested at least 17 people.
