Violent Labour Day protest in Berlin leaves almost 100 police officers injured

DOZENS of police officers were injured and hundreds arrested in one of Berlin’s most violent Labour Day protests in years, police said yesterday .

A demonstration by the far-left descended into violence after around 10,000 people gathered in the German capital’s Neukolln district on Saturday.

Protesters threw bottles and stones at the police. Some dragged rubbish bins and wooden pallets into the streets to create burning barricades.

Police tried to disperse rioters using pepper spray.

A total of 93 officers were injured during the evening, while 354 protesters were arrested.

The protest’s organisers said that dozens of demonstrators had also been injured.

“I’m really angry at the number of police officers who have been injured,” Michael Muller, Berlin’s mayor, said yesterday.

He added that it was important that Germans were still allowed to protest during the pandemic.

Some 30,000 are estimated to have demonstrated at several locations in Berlin through the day, with police reporting that the other marches were peaceful.

“The other demonstrations show that peaceful and responsible protests, with social distancing and masks, are possible and work,” Mr Muller said.

A city with a long history of unrest on May 1, Berlin has been largely peaceful in recent years, as authorities have managed to dilute the intensity of protests by organising street parties.

But with concerns due to the pandemic, the only public gatherings allowed this year were political demonstrations.

The situation was tense due to lockdown, but also because of Germany’s highest court annulling the city’s rental cap, a law left-wingers say is necessary to stop real-estate speculation.

Violence was seen in several other German cities. In Frankfurt, anarchists shot fireworks at police officers who responded with water cannons.

In Hamburg, police used water cannons and “kettling” on protesters in “black bloc” disguises.

In other Labour Day protests, authorities in Paris said 46 arrests were made at a demonstration against benefit changes.

Black-clad protesters set bins alight in the French capital, where some 17,000 people came out to demonstrate.

In Istanbul over 200 people were detained at an illegal rally organised by trade unions. (© Telegraph Media Group Ltd 2021)

Telegraph Media Group Limited [2021]