France ‘to prosecute’ 100+ May Day rioters

Some 300 people were arrested during rioting on May Day in France, with 109 of them remanded in custody and facing prosecution over vandalizing shops in central Paris.

French Interior Minister Gerard Collomb denounced the violent riots, which occurred on the sidelines of the otherwise peaceful May Day rallies on Tuesday, saying those remanded in custody would be prosecuted.

Police said some 300 people had been arrested on Tuesday, but most of them had been released by Wednesday.

Seemingly anarchist protesters, wearing black masks, smashed the windows of shops, ransacked stores, and scrawled anti-capitalist graffiti on walls. They chanted slogans like “Rise up, Paris” and “Everyone hates the police,” as they waved anti-government banners.

“Thirty one businesses were damaged, of which two were burned; six vehicles were burned, and 10 others damaged,” police said.

The masked protesters also interrupted rallies by labor and student union members in the French capital.

Authorities had on Monday warned that anarchist groups would attempt to incite violence during planned May Day gatherings.

President Emmanuel Macron also condemned the violence in a Twitter message while on a visit to Australia.

“Everything will be done so that the perpetrators are identified and held responsible for their actions,” he wrote.

The unrest in Paris, which is said to be the worst in months, coincided with heightened tensions over Macron’s reforms of the public sector.

Some 20,000 demonstrators, including railway workers, retirees, civil servants, and students, joined trade union protests on May Day in Paris to defend public services and denounce Macron’s economic reforms, according to authorities.

Under a union campaign to foil the reforms, rail workers launched three months of nationwide train strikes last month. The strikes mark the biggest industrial action against the president since he took office last year.

The government intends to cut rail workers’ special employment rights so that new hires would not have jobs for life or special retirement perks.