Demonstrators attend a May Day rally in Madrid, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Bernat Armangue)
For one day, workers ruled the world’s biggest streets.
Thousands strong marched Wednesday to mark May Day, the first day of the month when workers’ rights are celebrated in demonstrations around the globe.
From Seoul to Paris, Istanbul to Berlin, they drew attention to stagnant wages and the high cost of living as they took aim at their governments. In some cases, their governments returned fire.
In Turkey, police in riot gear shot rubber bullets and tear gas at thousands of protesters who clashed with officers as they tried to break through a barricade and reach Istanbul’s Taksim square in defiance of a ban.
Tear gas also rose from the streets of Paris, where workers seeking higher pay and better conditions were joined by others rankled by the upcoming Summer Games. They torched replica Olympic rings.
Standing out in the crowds were the many messages held high on banners or scrawled in pen on simple signs.
“We work to live!!! Not to die!!!” read the sign held by a man in Manila, Philippines. “The rich want war — the youth want a future,” a banner said in Berlin. “Don’t touch the eight-hour workday!” warned a placard in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Thousands of protesters in Seoul sang, waved flags and shouted pro-worker slogans as they stepped up criticism of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s conservative government and its anti-labor policies.
“The lives of our laborers have plunged into despair,” said Yang Kyung-soo, leader of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions. “We can’t overlook the Yoon Suk Yeol government. We’ll bring them down from power for ourselves.”
In Jakarta, Indonesia, marchers carried banners and wore slogans on their hats protesting a 2020 law that they said harms worker rights and the environment. Metal workers carried bright red flags and wore darker red headscarves. Others dressed as mimes with frowns painted on their faces.
In Beirut, pro-Palestinian marchers mixed with workers demanding an end to economic misery. Young women supporters of the Lebanese Communist party posed for selfies and flashed victory signs.
Most will return to their jobs Thursday.
People take part in the revolutionary May Day demonstration in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
An artist unpacks a crowned puppet head in the likeness of President Javier Milei to take to the International Workers' Day march in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
Members of National People's Power, a political alliance, carry placards at a Labour Day rally in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Participants march after a May Day rally in Tokyo, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae)
Union members clash with Turkish anti riot police officers as they march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul used tear gas and fired rubber bullets to disperse thousands of people attempting to break through a barricade and reach the city's main city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
A protester cries after seeing other protesters being detained during the May Day demonstration, Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in Paris. Thousands of protesters marched through the French capital, seeking better pay and working conditions. Pro-Palestinian groups and anti-Olympics activists joined the rally in Paris which will host the Summer Games in less than three months. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions shout slogans during a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Workers, activists and others in Asian capitals took to the streets on Wednesday to mark May Day with protests over rising prices and governments' labor polices and calls for greater labor rights. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
Workers march during a May Day rally in Jakarta, Indonesia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of workers urged the government to raise minimum wages and improve working condition. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Anti-government protesters try to get past riot police blocking their path to the Palace of Justice during a demonstration marking International Workers' Day, in Lima, Peru, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Martin Mejia)
Supporters of the Lebanese Communist party take a selfie, as they march during a demonstration to mark International Labor Day or May Day, in Beirut, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Despite the tense situation and ongoing clashes on Lebanon's border with Israel over the past seven months, hundreds of protesters marched through Beirut's streets to mark International Workers' Day. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla)
Protesters carry balloons to a march on International Workers' Day in Santiago, Chile, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Matias Basualdo)
Female workers take part in a May Day rally, marking International Labour Day in Lahore, Pakistan, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Participants of the rally demand implementation of labor laws and increase in their wages. (AP Photo/K.M. Chaudary)
A doll's face is covered with supportive messages for government-proposed reforms during the International Workers' Day march in Bogota, Colombia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Fernando Vergara)
Filipino activists march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Protesters burn olympic rings on the pavement near a Palestinian flag during the May Day demonstration, Wednesday, May 1, 2024 in Paris. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)
Taiwanese workers hold slogans reading "Congress amended the law to support workers' rights" and ''The regime has no honeymoon'' during a May Day rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Thousands of protesters from different labor groups protest on the street to ask for labor rights and interests. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
Government supporters rally marking marking International Workers Day, in Caracas, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jesus Vargas)
Women carry a Bolivian flag during an International Workers' Day march in La Paz, Bolivia, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Juan Karita)
Policemen try to block activists as they tried to march towards the U.S. Embassy during a protest to mark International Labor Day in Manila, Philippines on Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Hundreds of Filipino workers from various labor groups took to the streets to mark Labor Day and demand a wage increase and job security amid soaring food and oil prices. (AP Photo/Basilio Sepe)
Anti riot police officers stand guard blocking the route to protesters as Union members march during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. Police in Istanbul detained dozens of people who tried to reach the city's main square, Taksim, in defiance of a government ban on celebrating May 1 Labor Day at the landmark location. (AP Photo/Emrah Gurel)
Artists perform during the International Workers' Day march in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)
A couple kisses at the end of the revolutionary May Day demonstration in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi)
Union workers' shadows are cast on the street as they march with flags on International Workers' Day in Asuncion, Paraguay, Wednesday, May 1, 2024. (AP Photo/Jorge Saenz)
