National Post

HUNDREDS ARRESTED DURING VIOLENT BERLIN PROTESTS

-

Dozens of police officers were injured and hundreds arrested in one of Berlin’s most violent Labour Day protests in years, police said Sunday.

A demonstrat­ion by the far-left descended into violence after around 10,000 people gathered in the German capital’s Neukolln district on Saturday.

A total of 93 officers were injured during the evening, while 354 protesters were arrested. The protest’s organizers said that dozens of demonstrat­ors had also been injured.

“I’m really angry at the number of police officers who have been injured,” Michael Muller, Berlin’s mayor, said yesterday. He added that it was important that Germans were still allowed to protest during the pandemic.

A city with a long history of unrest on May 1, Berlin’s Labour Day demonstrat­ions have been largely peaceful in recent years, as authoritie­s have managed to dilute the intensity of protests by organizing street parties. But with concerns due to the pandemic, the only public gatherings allowed this year were political demonstrat­ions.

Violence was seen in several other German cities. In Frankfurt, anarchists shot fireworks at police officers who responded with water cannons.

In other Labour Day protests, authoritie­s in Paris arrested 46 people at a demonstrat­ion against benefit changes.

 ?? TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES ?? Thousands march on Saturday in a Labour Day protest in Berlin. Ninety-three police officers were injured.
TOBIAS SCHWARZ / AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES Thousands march on Saturday in a Labour Day protest in Berlin. Ninety-three police officers were injured.

Newspapers in English

Newspapers from Canada