Posted by Across cities in Asia and Europe, people took to the streets on May Day to demand economic justice and express their dissatisfaction with the impact of inflation. The French unions pressured the president to cancel proposals to raise the retirement age, while South Koreans advocated for an increase in wages. Additionally, Spanish lawyers called for more flexibility in taking time off, and migrant domestic workers in Lebanon marched during a time of severe economic crisis.
May Day is a global celebration of labor rights held on May 1st; the rallies held on Monday went beyond this theme to express broader dissatisfaction with the world. In Paris, climate activists defaced a Louis Vuitton museum, and protesters in Germany demanded an end to violence against women and LGBTQ+ individuals. Festivities in Pakistan were limited to indoor events, and political tensions overshadowed celebrations in Turkey due to upcoming elections.
Meanwhile, in Moscow, scaled-back events were subdued, and the Communist-led May Day celebrations, once grandiose, received less attention in the wake of Russia’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. This year’s May Day events in Asia provided an opportunity for the release of pent-up frustration after three years of COVID-19 restrictions. Activists called on governments to take more significant steps to enhance the lives of workers, resulting in higher turnouts in Asian cities than in previous years.
In France, the most substantial May Day demonstrations in years are expected, with unions protesting against President Emmanuel Macron’s recent suggestion to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers believe that the pension reform poses a threat to France’s social safety net and hard-won worker rights. Environmental activists, groups advocating for economic justice, and other factions opposed to Macron joined France’s powerful unions in the protests.
Some of the demonstrators were against the Paris 2024 Olympics and their perceived negative impact on society and the environment. France’s police force is on high alert for the protests, with criticism aimed at their plan to use drones to monitor potential disruptions in certain cities. In Turkey, police prevented a group of protesters from reaching Istanbul’s Taksim Square, and around a dozen were detained, according to independent TV station Sozcu.
Journalists who tried to film the arrests of demonstrators being forcibly moved into police vehicles were also pushed back or detained. The square holds symbolic importance for Turkey’s labor unions as it was the site of a tragic incident in 1977, when unknown gunmen opened fire on people celebrating May Day, leading to a fatal stampede. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government has prohibited demonstrations at Taksim, resulting in frequent clashes between protesters and law enforcement officials attempting to reach the square.
Nonetheless, a few small groups were permitted to lay wreaths at a monument in the area. In Pakistan, authorities banned rallies in certain cities due to either tense security conditions or political situations. In Peshawar, located in the country’s volatile northwest, labor organizations and trade unions held indoor events to demand improved working conditions amid high inflation. In Lahore, where political parties are prohibited from holding rallies ahead of the May 14 local election, a workers’ march is set to converge on the Punjab Assembly.
Meanwhile, in Karachi, the ruling party is hosting a seminar, and several public rallies are underway. Over 70 protests took place across Spain, spearheaded by the country’s powerful unions, which warned of “social conflict” if the country’s low salaries compared to the EU average did not increase in line with inflation. The unions also welcomed incentives to move Spain towards a four-day workweek to ease the burden on workers. While blue-collar workers led the demonstrations, white-collar professionals were also making demands in a country still recovering from previous economic downturns and where the traditional working day is very long.
The Illustrious College of Lawyers of Madrid called for reforms to the historical laws that mandated them to be on call 24/7, regardless of family deaths or medical emergencies. In recent years, lawyers have shared images of themselves working from hospital beds on IV drips to highlight the issue. Thousands of labor union members, opposition lawmakers, and academics gathered in Tokyo’s Yoyogi Park to demand wage increases that would offset the rising costs of daily life as they continue to recover from the pandemic’s impact.
The protesters criticized Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s plan to double the defense budget, arguing that the funds should be used for social welfare, security, and improving people’s lives. However, Kishida has promised to focus on raising wages. Meanwhile, in Indonesia, protesters called for the government to repeal a job creation law that they believed would benefit businesses at the expense of workers and the environment. In Taiwan, thousands of workers marched through Taipei, protesting the deficiencies in the island’s labor policies and exerting pressure on the ruling party ahead of the 2024 presidential election.
Medical workers wearing protective gear held placards calling for subsidies, while others held banners criticizing President Tsai Ing-wen’s labor policies. In Lebanon, Communist Party and trade syndicate members, along with a group of migrant domestic workers, marched through downtown Beirut, where the country is facing a severe economic crisis and spiraling inflation, and three-quarters of the population lives in poverty.
In North Korea, the main Rodong Sinmun newspaper published an editorial urging workers to provide more support to leader Kim Jong Un, meet their production quotas, and enhance public livelihoods. In Germany, a “Take Back the Night” rally organized by feminist and queer groups kicked off protests on the eve of May Day to denounce violence against women and LGBTQ+ people. Despite sporadic clashes between participants and police, the march was mostly peaceful. Numerous other rallies by labor unions and left-wing groups are planned in Germany.
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