Monday is May Day, known worldwide as the day when workers and activists march in the streets and gather in city centers to honor laborers across the globe.
The holiday is also known as International Workers Day and as Labor Day.
Police in Istanbul arrested dozens of protesters who were attempting to defy a ban prohibiting May Day events at the city’s iconic Taksim Square.The square was blocked off for a third straight year.Small groups of labor union representatives were allowed, however, to lay wreaths at a monument there where 34 people were killed in a 1977 May Day incident.
Greek trade unions observed May Day with a call for a 24-hour, nationwide strike as the country braces for more austerity cuts imposed by bailout lenders.
Workers and union members in the Philippines celebrated May Day by marching in the streets of Manila, the capital. Workers’ rights groups and unions have also scheduled rallies across Manila.
Indonesian workers took to the streets of Jakarta Monday. Thousands more workers are expected to join the rally later in the day.
France’s presidential rivals — centrist front-runner Emanuel Macron and far-right challenger Marine Le Pen — will hold their own dueling rallies Monday. There will also be demonstrations against both candidates.
In the U.S., May Day’s rallying point has shifted from workers to immigrants.Tens o fthousands of people are expected to mark the day from New York to Los Angeles to protest against President Donald Trump’s focus on boosting deportations.Organizations have called for immigrant strikes in some cities to show Americans what a day without immigrants would look like.
Cuba is facing its first May Day celebration without longtime President Fidel Castro, who died in November.Monday’s observance will also be the last May Day overseen by President Raul Castro, who has promised to step down from office in February.
Hundreds of thousands of people traditionally celebrate May Day in Havana’s Revolution Square with Cuban flags and portraits of Fidel Castro.
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