Zurich Labour Day parade attracts 14,000
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Zurich Labour Day parade attracts 14,000
Some 14,000 demonstrators gathered in Zurich to mark Labour Day on May 1.
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The official procession, which started at Helvetiaplatz, took place under the motto “United Against War and Fascism”.
The final rally took place on the famous Sechseläutenplatz. In her speech, the keynote speaker, Unia union president Vania Alleva, targeted US President Donald Trump “and his band of techno-oligarchs.”
“Where the racist right is on the rise, fundamental rights, human rights and hard-won freedoms are in danger,” Alleva said. “The trade union struggle for equality and justice is therefore more necessary than ever,” he added.
The procession took place peacefully. However, Zurich municipal police reported that several hundred people, some of them masked, belonging to the left-wing autonomous scene also took part in the march. They set off firecrackers and smoke bombs. Along the route, they also daubed shop windows and shop fronts.
Far-left groups also called unauthorised demonstrations in the afternoon. The police explicitly asked the population not to participate. Despite this, at the end of the official part of the celebrations clashes occurred between demonstrators and police forces.
Police indicated on X that they intervened by using rubber bullets and tear gas to respond to the attacks.
Translated from German by DeepL/mga
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