Police fired tear gas to push back black-clad anarchists who ransacked business premises in Paris on Sunday during May Day protests against the policies of newly re-elected French President Emmanuel Macron, Reuters reported.
Thousands of people joined May Day marches across France, calling for salary increases and for Macron to drop his plan to raise the retirement age.
Most were peaceful but violence broke out in the capital, where police arrested 54 people, including a woman who attacked a fireman trying to put out a fire, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said on Twitter. Eight police were injured, he added.
“Black Bloc” anarchists ransacked a McDonald’s restaurant on the Place Leon Blum and trashed several real estate agencies, breaking their windows and setting garbage bins on fire.