Tension high for huge France Mayday demos

national | miscellaneous | news report Wednesday May 01, 2002 15:59 by Round Up - Mayday

The French extreme right also lays claim to 1 May

Anti Le Pen rally at GPO 6pm TODAY Trade Union march at 7pm Garden of Remembrance

Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of French cities to protest against the presence of far right leader Jean-Marie Le Pen in the presidential run-off.
Authorities estimate more than 500,000 demonstrators turned out, including 100,000 in Paris where thousands of supporters of Mr Le Pen have also been marching amid a heavy security operation.

Many Le Pen supporters waved French flags and shouted "Le Pen for president!" as they filed past a statue of Joan of Arc before listening to the National Front leader give his first public speech since his electoral breakthrough.

The police dealt swiftly with anyone who looked like disrupting the march, and trouble has been avoided so far.

Anti-immigrant

But on a warm May Day in the French capital, emotions are running high and the authorities remain on full alert.

Riot police lined the route of the pro-Le Pen demonstration along the Rue de Rivoli, which was taking place just days ahead of the final round of the presidential election.

About 3,500 police officers are standing by as the authorities attempt to ensure that rival protesters are kept apart.

The National Front leader, who espouses anti-immigrant policies, shocked Europe by winning nearly 17% of the vote in the first round of the election and the right to challenge incumbent Jacques Chirac in Sunday's run-off.

May Day in Paris

Pro-Le Pen marchers were bussed in overnight from the provinces or arrived on public transport from the capital's suburbs.

The streets of Berlin saw clashes overnight

They chanted "Le Pen for the Elysee, Chirac for La Sante", referring to the presidential palace and the Paris prison where France's best-known convicts are held. Mr Chirac has been at the centre of sleaze allegations during his first term in office.

Mr Le Pen, 73, laid a wreath at the statue of Joan of Arc and then marched to the Place de l'Opera, where he delivered an address in which he promised an "electoral earthquake" on Sunday.

A number of Parisians showed their anger at Mr Le Pen's parade. One family, standing on a balcony above the marchers, hung out a banner that simply read "Non".

Police in other European capitals were also on high alert for May Day protests:

In Berlin, hundreds of demonstrators clashed with police overnight after the attempted looting of a supermarket, ahead of Wednesday's anti-globalisation protests.

In London, all police leave was cancelled and 6,000 extra officers were drafted in ahead of protests planned by environmentalists, anti-capitalists and trade unionists

In Moscow, thousands of communist supporters and trade unionists took to the streets.
May Day is traditionally celebrated by both left and right in France - albeit for different reasons.

May Day
Declared an international working-class celebration in 1889
Public holiday in many countries
Celebrated in pagan times in Europe as the first day of spring
For the left, the day is about celebrating long-standing workers' rights.

In the far-right's own mythology, 1 May is about celebrating Joan of Arc, the virgin peasant soldier who in the 15th Century helped throw the English invaders out of France.

Sydney clashes

In May Day demonstrations elsewhere, police on horseback in Australia broke up a protest outside the Sydney offices of the company which runs detention centres for illegal immigrants.

Other Australian cities have also seen May Day rallies, with protests against the government's policies towards asylum seekers, in support of Palestinian land claims and more generalised anti-globalisation demonstrations.

In the Philippines, thousands of supporters of Joseph Estrada, the imprisoned ex-president, marched on the presidential palace in the capital, Manila.

And in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, supporters and opponents of the controversial Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, are due to hold rival May Day rallies.

Previous protests against Mr Chavez's radical leftist policies have ended in violence, with 17 people shot dead last month in unrest which temporarily removed the president from power.