Chaotic images of rioting, violence and looting were posted to social media from all over the globe on Tuesday as anarchists celebrated May Day, or International Workers’ Day.
Violence broke out in France, Sweden, Honduras, Greece, Turkey and many other places as police clashed with the anarchists.
https://twitter.com/enough14/status/991378615198732294
It's raining tear gas. Food vendors scrambling to pack up their stands. The bystanders caught up in it all are indignant. #Honduras pic.twitter.com/Lebq4iC6aH
— Jeff Ernst (@jeffgernst) May 1, 2018
https://twitter.com/th1an1/status/991334854313828353
1º de Maio no Erdoganistão, que proibiu comemorar o dia na praça Taksim, em Istambul: dezenas de pessoas presas pela polÃcia turca, ao tentarem chegar ao tradicional local de protestos. #MayDay #1Maio #1Mayo pic.twitter.com/sVTH7vWw8t
— Persona (@PersonalEscrito) May 1, 2018
The annual marches began in 1886 when more than 300,000 people in the United States ditched work to protest in favor of an eight-hour work day, a battle that had began two years earlier.
À l'avant du pont d'Austerlitz, certains black bloc ont fait leur provision en munition de pavés dans un ptit tote bag. #1ermai2018 pic.twitter.com/RbBFs6T9wC
— Cécile Bouanchaud (@CBouanchaud) May 1, 2018
Two days after the May Day strike, police fired upon another protest at a Chicago factory and killed four people. The next day people gathered in Haymarket Square to protest the killings.
Molotov cocktails and tear gas around the Polytechnic University in Athens, following a #MayDay strike.#Greece pic.twitter.com/QBIS1MBqoV
— Savvas Karmaniolas (@savvaskarma) May 1, 2018
When officers arrived and began to disperse the crowd, a bomb was thrown at the police — killing one immediately. Â Seven more died from injuries over the following weeks.
https://twitter.com/RRYrevolucion/status/991359088373059589
In response to the bombing, police began firing into the crowd of protesters, killing several people and wounding up to forty others.
Teargas unleashed during Paris #MayDay protests
We are live -> https://t.co/QPE0kqUxCQ pic.twitter.com/MeYYwXHwry
— Ruptly (@Ruptly) May 1, 2018
Eight anarchists were convicted of murder for the bombings, though they maintained their innocence. Four of the men were hanged and another took his own life by placing an explosive in his mouth. The remaining three were pardoned six years later.
https://twitter.com/anarkonesia/status/991309066122051592
Now, every year on May 1, unions and anarchists worldwide gather to cause mayhem and havoc in the the streets.
