More than 7,400 police and gendarmes deployed with orders from Macron to take an \u201cextremely firm stance\u201d if faced with violence
\nNEWS DESK
\nPARIS
\nParis riot police fired teargas as they squared off against hard-line demonstrators among tens of thousands of May Day protesters, who flooded the city Wednesday in a test for France\u2019s zero-tolerance policy on street violence.
\nTensions were palpable as a heady mix of labor unionists, \u201cyellow vest\u201d demonstrators and anti-capitalists gathered in the French capital, putting security forces on high alert.
\nAhead of the main march, the city was on lockdown with more than 7,400 police and gendarmes deployed with orders from President Emmanuel Macron to take an \u201cextremely firm stance\u201d if faced with violence.
\nClashes briefly erupted on Montparnasse Boulevard, where hundreds of anti-capitalist \u201cblack bloc\u201d activists pushed to the front of the gathering crowd, hurling bottles and other projectiles at police, who fired tear gas and stingball grenades, an Media correspondent said.
\nUsed at ground level, the grenades release scores of rubber pellets that cause an intense stinging to the legs.
\nAuthorities had warned this year\u2019s marches would likely spell trouble, coming barely a week after leaders of the yellow vest anti-government movement angrily dismissed a package of tax cuts by President Emmanuel Macron.
\nAnd with some agitators vowing on social media to turn Paris into \u201cthe capital of rioting,\u201d the government moved to deploy security on an \u201cexceptional scale\u201d throughout the capital.
\nLast year, officials were caught off guard by some 1,200 troublemakers who ran amok in Paris, vandalising businesses and clashing with police.
\nBy early afternoon, thousands had flocked to the Montparnasse area, many wearing the hi-visibility jackets that gave the name to the yellow vest protesters.
\nSince November, the city has struggled to cope with the weekly yellow vest protests, which have often descended into chaos with a violent minority smashing up and torching shops, restaurants and newspaper stands.
\nAcross the city on Wednesday, streets were barricaded and shops had boarded up their windows, with police ordering the closure of all businesses along the route of the main march.
\n\u201cWe are not afraid of the union marches but of the black blocs,\u201d local restaurant owner Serge Tafanel told AFP.
\nInterior Minister Christophe Castaner said several groups on social media had urged protesters to transform Paris into \u201cthe capital of rioting,\u201d with police gearing up for the arrival of up to 2,000 activists bristling for a fight.
\nMany are anti-capitalist youths, often known as black blocs, who dress in black and wear face masks.
\nNearly 200 motorcycle units have been deployed across the capital to respond quickly to flare-ups of violence, and drones are being used to track protesters\u2019 movements.
\nCastaner said police would carry out pre-emptive searches of anyone planning to march, a new tactic allowed under a security law passed recently in response to the yellow vest violence.
\nFrom the early hours of Wednesday, several dozen police officers could be seen at the city\u2019s main train stations, carrying out bag random searches, Media said.
\nBy midday, police said 88 people had been detained for questioning.
\nLast Thursday, in a major policy speech aimed at calming the yellow vest anger, Macron promised a string of reforms including tax cuts worth five billion euros ($5.5 billion).
\nThe yellow vests rejected it as too little, too late, pledging to keep up the protests, which began last year over rising taxes on fuel and pensions but have since morphed into a wider movement.
\nAlthough the numbers have steadily fallen, the rallies have remained in the headlines, largely over disorder by a handful of violent protesters along the Champs-Elysees.
\nFollowing a particularly violent demo in March, the government adopted a \u201czero-tolerance\u201d approach, passing an \u201canti-rioter\u201d bill which included making it a criminal offense to wear a mask at a protest.
\nFrance\u2019s powerful labor unions are also hoping to use the traditional May Day march for workers\u2019 rights to raise their profile after finding themselves sidelined for months by the grass-roots yellow vest movement.
\nLike the yellow vests, the unions were also disappointed by Macron\u2019s speech.
\n\u201cWe must be careful not to lose the meaning of this day,\u201d warned Philippe Martinez, secretary general of the CGT, one of France\u2019s biggest unions.
\n\u201cIt is a day of mobilization which deserves our full attention after Emmanuel Macron\u2019s announcement in which he said: \u2018I hear you and I\u2019m not changing anything\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
More than 7,400 police and gendarmes deployed with orders from Macron to take an \u201cextremely firm stance\u201d if faced with violence NEWS DESK PARIS Paris riot police fired teargas as they squared off against hard-line demonstrators among tens of thousands of May Day protesters, who flooded the city Wednesday in a test for France\u2019s zero-tolerance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-62137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n