国际英语资讯:At least three policemen wounded, hundreds arrested as May Day rally turns violent in Paris_时事

国际英语资讯:At least three policemen wounded, hundreds arrested as May Day rally turns violent in Paris

With orders from President Emmanuel Macron to take an "extremely firm stance" against any kind of violence, more than 7,400 policemen were deployed across Paris, with identity checks and bag searches being reinforced, especially in sensitive sites including train stations.

"Immediate response, arrests, intervention: police, gendarmes and firefighters are more than ever mobilized. No abuse should be tolerated on the sidelines of the demonstrations," Paris prefecture said in a Twitter message.

Fearing violence and destruction of public properties, authorities have barricaded the neighborhood near the Elysee Palace, the National Assembly and Notre Dame Cathedral.

They also called on shops, restaurants and cafes along the route of the rally to close by Wednesday afternoon, erect barricades and board up windows for fear of looting.

Coordinated by the country's main labor unions, more than 200 rallies across the country drew 151,000 participants, of which 16,000 in Paris, the French Interior Ministry estimated. The CGT put the number at 80,000 in the capital and 310,000 country-wide.

This year's celebration of the International Workers' Day had been dominated by the "Yellow Vest" movement which started in November 2018 to denounce high living costs and then turned into a social uprising against Macron.

Thousands of people wearing the high visibility vest which symbolizes the spontaneous movement, joined the labor unionists in cities from Marseille to Toulouse, in Bordeaux and Nantes in relative calm atmosphere to protest against the president's reform drive.