French police officers walk next to the Eiffel tower on the sideline of a gathering to protest French President Emmanuel Macron's plans to revamp national railway company in Paris, France on May 3, 2018. (FILE PHOTO)
Paris police are deploying in large numbers and activists are calling for calm as the French capital prepares for a mass protest on the anniversary of President Emmanuel Macron's inauguration.
Authorities are pledging to avoid a repeat of violence and damage that scarred May Day protests in Paris earlier this week.
A judicial official said Saturday that seven people were charged in that unrest, which saw protesters torch cars and vandalise a McDonald's restaurant and other stores. Authorities blamed masked anarchists who disrupted a peaceful workers march.
French President Emmanuel Macron.
Paris authorities have ordered 2,000 police officers onto the streets on Saturday.
Organisers of the march, the far left party Defiant France, warned troublemakers to stay away. The party is angry at Macron's reforms such as abolishing some worker protections and increasing police powers.