May Day protests intensify in Europe

Traditional May Day demonstrations turned violent in several countries on Friday as workers took to the streets round Europe to voice their anger at the failure of governments to halt rising unemployment and other hardships caused by the global economic crisis.

Police clashed with demonstrators in Turkey, Greece and Germany, using tear gas to repel protesters throwing rocks and petrol bombs through shop windows. However, the violence in those countries appears to have been sparked by fringe elements hijacking peaceful protests.

By early evening, demonstrations in Spain and France appeared to be peaceful, though they too revealed a deepening social division fuelled by the crisis. “There are too many inequalities between the people with money and workers,” said a factory worker demonstrating in Paris, where trade unions were united in protest for the first time since the second world war.

Protesters warned social tension would intensify if governments proved unable to respond to the growing malaise. Martine Fournier, a 62-year-old French municipal worker marching in Paris, said: “I want a general strike. Nothing can be worse than what we have today.”

Source/Full Story:: FT.com

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