The violence in Paris may have grabbed the May Day headlines, but many demonstrations were going off peacefully elsewhere.
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The violence in Paris may have grabbed the May Day headlines, but many demonstrations passed off peacefully elsewhere in Europe.
Our reporters sent us video footage from across the continent as workers marched for better jobs and social reforms.
“This is a special day for labour across the world,” said former Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who spoke to Euronews at a march in Athens. Varoufakis is running as part of a German party in the upcoming European elections.
“After 2008, we've had a complete collapse of financial capitalism and labour has paid the price for it, and the world is facing a very serious crisis.”
In Sofia, Bulgaria, workers played music as they protested for a higher minimum wage. Bulgaria currently has the lowest minimum wage in Europe: €286 per month.
Workers in Rome celebrated May Day differently, attending an open-air music concert in Piazza S. Giovanni, organised annually by Italy’s trade unions.
But the themes of the day were similar.
In Rome, Costanza, a student interviewed by Euronews, said she wanted a “job and future.”
Euronews correspondents Fay Doulgkeri in Athens, Bryan Carter in Sofia, Giorgia Orlandi in Rome, and Jack Parrock in Brussels reported.