May Day: Labour groups around the world organise rallies with some resulting in violent clashes

Police fired tear gas to push back black-clad anarchists who ransacked business premises in Paris on May 1 during May Day protests against the policies of newly re-elected President Emmanuel Macron.

Several labour groups around the world organised rallies on the occasion of International Labour Day which is observed every year on May 1. While few countries protested to honour workers others shamed governments into doing more for their citizens. Tensions erupted in Paris when some demonstrators smashed windows at some banks, a fast-food restaurant and a real estate agency.

A man in a wheelchair holds a sign that reads in Spanish "No to discrimination," during a sex workers march to commemorate International Labour Day in downtown Mexico City.

A Starbucks Workers Union member yells as the May Day march makes it way to Westlake Park in Seattle.

Workers from the Drivers Union raise their fists before the start of the annual May Day March in Seattle. 

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.

In France, protesters shouted slogans against newly elected President Emmanuel Macron, a development that may set the tone for his second term.

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.

A demonstrator throws a stone at a business set on fire during clashes with riot police following a May Day march in Santiago.

A man wearing a mask with the image of Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro pasted on it holds a sign with text that reads in Portuguese "Supreme Court, supreme torturer for speech," during the Labour Day and Freedom rally in Brasilia, Brazil.

Supporters of Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro participate in the celebration of the commemorate May Day in Caracas, Venezuela.

Members of Centre of India Trade Unions (CITU) take out a rally to mark May Day in Hyderabad, India.