May Day: World’s workers rally, France sees pension anger

While May Day is marked around the world as a celebration of labor rights, this year’s rallies tapped into broader frustrations

People squeezed by inflation and demanding economic justice took to streets across Asia and Europe to mark May Day on May 1, in an outpouring of worker discontent from Tokyo to Pakistan to France not seen since before the worldwide COVID-19 lockdowns.

French police charged at radical protesters and troublemakers smashing bank and shop windows and setting fires as unions pushed the president to scrap a higher retirement age. South Koreans pleaded for higher wages. Spanish lawyers demanded the right to take days off. Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon marched in a country plunged into economic crisis.

While May Day is marked around the world as a celebration of labor rights, this year's rallies tapped into broader frustrations. Climate activists spray-painted a Louis Vuitton museum in Paris, and protesters in Germany demonstrated against violence targeting women and LGBTQ+ people.

Celebrations were forced indoors in Pakistan, tinged with political tensions as in Turkey, as both countries face high-stakes elections. Russia's war in Ukraine overshadowed scaled-back events in Moscow, where Communist-led May Day celebrations were once massive affairs.

Across Asia and Europe, this year’s May Day events unleashed pent-up frustration after three years of COVID-19 restrictions.

This year’s events had bigger turnouts than in previous years in Asian cities, as activists in many countries argued governments should do more to improve workers’ lives.

Across France, some 8,00,000 people marched, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said. They mobilized against President Emmanuel Macron’s recent move to raise the retirement age from 62 to 64. Organizers see pension reform as a threat to hard-fought worker rights, while Macron argues it's economically necessary as the population ages.