Demonstrators around the world took to the streets on Sunday to celebrate workers and push for improved labour rights.
Tens of thousands marked May Day – the international day of workers – with rallies in South Korea, Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Serbia, Turkey, India, Pakistan, Greece, France and Cyprus, among others.
Citizens and trade unions in cities around Europe took to the streets for marches with protest messages to their governments, notably in France where the holiday to honour workers was being used as a rallying cry against newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron.
Turkish riot police arrested dozens of protesters trying to reach Istanbul’s main Taksim Square for May Day demonstrations against economic hardship caused by raging inflation.
Only a few people strolled the pedestrian-only streets in central Beijing’s historic Qianmen district, normally an area bustling with tourists on what was a national holiday and a sunny spring day.
Many Chinese marked a quiet May Day this year as the government’s “zero-COVID” approach restricts travel and enforces lockdowns in multiple cities. Millions remain restricted to their buildings or compounds in Shanghai, China’s largest city, under a lockdown that has only slightly eased.
