Police made 34 arrests in the capital, where garbage bins were set on fire and the windows of a bank branch were smashed, momentarily delaying the march.
Marchers, most wearing masks in line with coronavirus rules, carried banners reading, "Dividends, not unemployment benefits are the income of lazy people," and, "We want to live, not survive". "Loads of money is going to those who have plenty and less for those who have nothing as reflected in the unemployment insurance reform plan that we want scrapped," Philippe Martinez, head of the CGT labour union said.Far-left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon and far-right leader Marine Le Pen, who both plan to challenge President Emmanuel Macron in next year's presidential election, attended May Day events.
Le Pen, who had earlier laid a wreath in Paris at the statue of Joan of Arc, her party’s nationalist symbol, warned of "total chaos" if Macron is re-elected.