Paris police arrest nearly 200 in May Day protests

Police in Paris on Tuesday arrested nearly 200 masked protesters who interrupted peaceful demonstrations marking May Day. 

Police said that nearly 1,200 activists in masks and hoods turned up at the May Day protests in Paris, according to the BBC, breaking windows and setting cars ablaze. 

Police deployed a water cannon and tear gas in an effort to disperse the demonstrators, according to media reports. 

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Benjamin Griveaux, a spokesman for the French government, blasted the masked protesters, saying that genuine demonstrators were not afraid to show their faces. 

“When you have sincere convictions, you demonstrate with your face unmasked,” Griveaux said. “Those who wear hoods are the enemies of democracy.”

The demonstrations in Paris on Tuesday were made up mostly of labor union members who were protesting French President Emmanuel Macron’s public-sector reforms. 

Organizers said that the main protest drew about 55,000 people, although police estimated a crowd of about 20,000.