Labor rights and the public health system were in the eye of the storm of protests in Athens. And in Istanbul, police arrested hundreds of people in altercations in Taksim Square.
ADVERTISING
Riot police and tear gas in a May Day in Paris of protests and revolts. Thousands of people marched through the French capital to demand better wages and working conditions.
The Olympic rings burned in Paris
While others took advantage to set fire to the olympic rings and show their dissatisfaction with the upcoming Olympics. Police arrested at least 45 people.
In Athens, thousands of Greeks marched to defend their labor rights, denounce high food prices and the fate of Gazan civilians in the May Day demonstration this year in Athens, Greece.
A crowd gathered in the center of the Greek capital shouting slogans and holding union and Palestinian flags.
“We are in a situation in which high prices affect us, and we are also threatened by war. People feel suffocated by high prices. While governments commit crimes,” said one protester.
The public health system in the eye of the hurricane
“Hospitals and the health system in general are the sector that has been most affected and continue to suffer from the lack of new hires in permanent positions. They are trying to privatize the healthcare system and followingnoon consultations. We will not stop in our fight until the health system is public and available to all those who need it,” said another interviewee.
A group of young people threw red paint at the fountain in Syntagma Square, in a symbolic gesture for the blood of Palestinians spilled in the Gaza Strip.
Red paint on fountains to evoke the Gaza massacre
“As in many European countries, here too the students symbolically threw red paint into a fountain. In this way they want to talk regarding the genocide taking place in Gaza.
Express your solidarity with the students and professors of the universities of the United States, who are victims of strong authoritarianism, because they ask to stop the genocide in Gaza, to end the connection of their universities with the murderous State of Israel,” said a young interviewee .
“Eight hours of work, rights for all, the fight continues”
Unions, student organizations and youth parties commemorated May Day. Their march began in Klathmonos Square and ended in Syntagma Square. The central motto of the demonstration was “eight hours of work in all sectors, rights everywhere, the fight continues“Special reference was made to the issue of high food prices, as well as the war between Israel and Hamas.
A protest in Istanbul defied the ban on demonstrations in Taksim Square
And in Istanbul, Turkey, the Police arrested hundreds of people in May 1 altercations in Taksim Square. The riot police used tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse protesters who tried to break through a barricade and defy the government ban. The workers were protesting once morest inflation and lack of freedoms.