PARIS
IS BURNING
May Day march in Paris turns violent with horrifying images showing riot cops engulfed in flames as left-wing protesters rally against Marine Le Pen
At
least three cops are reported to have been hurt as masked activists
throw Molotov cocktails
1
May, 2017
MAY
DAY demonstrators in France went on the rampage today as they rallied
against right wing presidential election candidate Marine Le Pen.
Fighting
broke out in central Paris during a rally held close to the Place de
la Bastille, where protestors shouted “Fascists out!”
GETTY
IMAGES
At
least three officers are reported to have been injured during clashes
with protesters in Paris
GETTY
IMAGE
One
of the injured riot cops is said to have suffered bad burns from a
Molotov cocktail thrown by
demonstrators
REUTERS
They
were furious that Ms
Le Pen,
48, has got through to the second round of the
election to
choose a new head of state.
Ms
Le Pen will go head-to-head against independent favourite Emmanuel
Macron, 39, on Sunday.
One
Left-wing activist, who identified herself as Nicole, 22, said: “She
represents racism and hatred, that’s why we’re opposing her.
“Thousands
of us have come out on the street to stand up for justice and
decency, and to show our shame at these fascists hoping to take
over.”
Demonstrators
took part in running battles with riot police, who used tear gas and
baton charges to try and keep the crowds at bay.
More
than 9,000 police, gendarmes and soldiers were on duty to try to
prevent trouble on what is traditionally a day of protest across
France.
They
were pelted with Molotov cocktails by hooded youths in shocking
scenes on the streets of the French capital.
A
police source quoted by the Telegraph said
three officers had been hurt – including one who received serious
burns.
French
police fire tear gas at protestors at a May day workers march in
Paris
GETTY IMAGES
Demonstrators hold a banner reading, 'No war between populations, no peace between the classes' during the march
GETTY IMAGES
A man in a skeleton mask holds a black anarchist flag and a flare aloft as he leads the May Day march towards police lines
GETTY IMAGES
The march soon turned violent, with protesters launching a burning trolley towards CRS riot officers
EPA
Police fought back with tear gas and baton charges to try to keep the crowd at bay amid ugly scenes in the French capital
Today Ms Le Pen addressed National Front (FN) supporters at the Exhibitions Park at Villepinte, north-east of Paris, calling on “nationalist France” to rise up.
She also tweeted about the violence in Paris, writing: “I pay tribute to the two injured CRS (riot police).
“It's is this mess and this laxism that I don't want to see any more in our streets.”
She is currently trailing in opinion polls, which suggest that the independent Mr Macron will win Sunday’s poll by as much as 60 per cent.
REUTERS
A trolley supporting a large cardboard dragon is set on fire and hurled towards police lines by protesters
GETTY IMAGES
French riot cops try to push away a burning trolley launched towards them during the annual May Day workers' rally in Paris
GETTY IMAGES
Demonstrators rampage through the city, smashing up a bus stop as they fight pitch battles with police
GETTY IMAGES
Earlier her father Jean-Marie Le Pen laid a wreath of Joan of Arc in Paris.
Mr Le Pen, who remains the honorary president of the FN and who is funding his daughter’s election campaign with a loan worth more than £6million, told supporters to vote in their masses.
He was a frequent presidential candidate, and came second to the conservative Jacques Chirac in 1995.
Mr Macron meanwhile taunted his far-Right rivals by visiting the spot where her FN supporters murdered a Moroccan immigrant.
Mr Macron paid tribute at the Carousel Bridge, in central Paris, where Brahim Bouarram was killed by neo-Nazis attached to the party exactly 22 years ago today.
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