May Day protests: Hundreds arrested across Europe as demonstrations turn violent

Mass rallies, strikes and violence in towns and cities from Sweden to Turkey

Tear gas thrown at May Day rally in Paris

Hundreds of demonstrators have been arrested across Europe as May Day protests turned violent.

European capitals from Paris to Moscow and Copenhagen to Athens saw mass rallies, strikes and violence on the streets.

French police clashed with stone-throwing protesters who set fires and smashed up vehicles as thousands of people gathered for May Day rallies under tight security.

Neo-nazis scuffled with police in Sweden while in Greece a mass-walkout crippled public transport.

The global day of action saw people take to the streets in dozens of Asian and African capitals, with cities in North and South America also braced for disruption later on Wednesday.

A union rally in London was carried off peacefully and police there said they were not expecting significant demonstrations or violence.

Follow all the action and reaction in our liveblog below.

Key Points

• Thousands of police deployed in Paris 
• Greek public transport crippled 
• Berlin braced for disruption
• Activists in Russia arrested
• Rallies also taking place in dozens of Asian cities

[1 May 2019 17:06 · Tom Batchelor]

We are now ending our rolling coverage of the May Day protests around the world. Thank you for reading.