May Day rioters clash with police as protests break out worldwide against austerity measures and poor working conditions Workers hit by lower living standards staged May Day protests across the world today hoping to persuade their governments to ease austerity measures, boost growth and improve employment conditions. In Turkey, riot police in Istanbul fired water cannons and tear gas to disperse tens of thousands of demonstrators, some of whom threw stones at security forces as they tried to breach barricades to reach the city's main square. The city's governor, Huseyin Avni Mutlu, said 22 police officers and three civilians were wounded in the clashes. Roughly half of Istanbul's 40,000-strong police force was drafted in to the centre of the city to block access to Taksim Square, earlier placed off limits by authorities to a march organised by trade unions. Smoked out: May Day protesters clash with riot police as they try to break through barricades to reach the city's main square in central Istanbul, Turkey Firebrands: Workers dance around a burning effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino during a protest marking Labour Day outside the presidential palace in Manila Up in arms: Gay rights activists march during a traditional May Day rally in St Petersburg, Russia, with a poster saying: 'We demand the abolition of the homophobic law!' Taking to the streets: Members of France's far-right National Front party chant slogans during the traditional May Day demonstration in Paris Avni said the clashes had been instigated by 'radical' groups numbering a total of 3,500 people who threw stones, metal objects and Molotov cocktails at police lines. A total of 72 arrests were made during the day, he added. Witnesses said security had been tightened around the office of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan in the district of Besiktas a short way from Taksim, where the heaviest clashes took place. Erdogan was not in the office at the time. The incidents followed the pattern of past years, when May Day demonstrations in Turkey's largest city have often been marked by clashes between police and protesters. Dozens of people celebrating May Day were killed in Taksim in 1977 when unknown gunmen opened fire on the crowds, although in the last three years protests have been largely peaceful. Unlike other rallies throughout Europe on Wednesday aimed at protesting against government austerity measures, crowds in Turkey turned out to celebrate international labour day and call for better working rights. Turkey has largely weathered the economic crisis that has swept through much of Europe, including its neighbour Greece, enjoying steady growth over the past decade. Hosing them down: Turkish police use water cannon and tear gas against demonstrators near Taksim Square in Istanbul Crackdown: The Istanbul governor's office said 20 protesters were arrested and at least two police injured during the clashes Violent: Protesters throw rubble and use catapults to fire missiles at police during May Day celebrations in the Turkish capital On the front line: The clashes in Istanbul came after three years of relatively peaceful May Day festivities Caught in the crossfire: An injured journalist is helped during a clash between protestors and Turkish riot police in central Istanbul But many employees, as well as rights groups, say workers in Turkey are denied their basic rights to organise in trade unions, bargain collectively and take strike action, particularly in the public sector. In Madrid, thousands of protesters snaked up the Gran Via central shopping street, waving flags and carrying placards reading 'austerity ruins and kills' and 'reforms are robbery'. 'The future of Spain looks terrible, we're going backwards with this government,' said former civil servant Alicia Candelas, 54, who has been without a job for two years. The Spanish economy has shrunk for seven consecutive quarters, and unemployment stands at a record 27 per cent. There had 'never been a May 1 with more reason to take to the streets', said Candido Mendez, head of UGT, one of two main unions that called on workers and the unemployed to join more than 80 demonstrations across the country. Blast off: A firework explodes amid a scene of carnage in a street in Istanbul. Witnesses reported clashes in several neighbourhoods in the area Taking cover: Riot police emerge through a cloud of tear gas as they clash with protesters trying to break through barricades to reach the city's main square in Istanbul Mobilising: Authorities moved to prohibit traditional Labour Day rallies at Taksim Square, which is undergoing major renovations At the ready: Two riot police officers prepare their weapons as clashes erupt after the government, citing security reasons, banned a rally on Istanbul's Taksim Square Trains and ferries were cancelled in Greece, and bank and hospital staff walked off the job after the main public and private sector unions there called a 24-hour strike, the latest in a string of protests in a country in its sixth year of recession. About 1,000 police officers were deployed in Athens, but the demonstration passed off peacefully, with about 5,000 striking workers, pensioners and students marching to parliament holding banners reading: 'We won't become slaves, take to the streets!'. Earlier, hundreds of protesters affiliated with the Communist KKE party raised their arms in a clenched fist salute on Syntagma Square, scene of violent clashes between police and protesters during previous protests. Taking aim: A Turkish police officer fires a tear gas canister at protesters to break up the riots during the May Day rally in Istanbul Flashpoint: Trade union groups vowed to mark May Day in Taksim Square, which is of symbolic importance to workers and left-wing groups Out in force: Some 22,000 officers were deployed to police the city as demonstrators waving flags and shouting anti-government slogans tried to access the main square 'The economy won't be resurrected by the bankrupt banks and the corrupt political system but by the workers and their fight,' Alexis Tsipras, leader of the anti-bailout Syriza party, told protesters. 'Our message today is very clear: 'Enough with these policies which hurt people and make the poor poorer," said Ilias Iliopoulos, general secretary of public sector union ADEDY. Turnout in Greece was lower than last year when 100,000 marched on Syntagma Square. The May 1 holiday falls a few days before Greek Orthodox Easter, so public schools were shut and many workers have left for holidays. Four heavily indebted euro zone countries - Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus - have received sovereign bailouts. Mass gathering: Demonstrators march during a Labour Day rally organised by Spanish trade union confederations in Puerta del Sol square in Madrid, Spain En masse: Protesters march in Madrid, snaking up the Gran Via central shopping street, waving flags and carrying placards reading 'austerity ruins and kills' Vocal: Members of the French National Front political party, take part in a march before the party's traditional May Day rally in Paris Trumpeting their cause: A marching band leads a May Day protest through Farringdon, London, which brought together trade unionists, students and pensioners With little or no sign of growth in the euro zone, the European Central Bank is expected to cut interest rates to a record low 0.5 per cent at its policy meeting on Thursday. But analysts say that alone will do little to lift the eurozone out of recession, and several governments are now openly discussing policies to try to boost growth. Italy's new Prime Minister Enrico Letta told Germany on Tuesday that his government would meet its budget commitments but expected Europe to drop its austerity mantra and do more to lift growth. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, seen by many in southern Europe as the champion of the euro zone's belt-tightening approach, struck a conciliatory tone, saying 'budget consolidation and growth need not be contradictory'. Parade: Thousands participate in the May Day rally organised by Democratic Left Alliance and All-Poland Alliance of Trade under the slogan 'Yes, decent work - quite exploitative!' in Warsaw Standing up for their cause: Gay rights activists march and shout slogans during the May Day demonstration in St Petersburg, Russia Common bond: Gay rights activists clasp hands in front of a poster which reads poster reads: 'We demand the abolition of the homophobic law!' in St Petersburg Making their views known: Communist demonstrators holding red flags march along the Kremlin to mark May Day in Moscow, Russia Taking on the state: People participating in an opposition rally and march carry flags and a poster with the slogan 'take away and divide' during a protest in Moscow Tens of thousands marched in Italy's major cities to demand government action to tackle unemployment - at 11.5 percent overall and 40 percent among the young - and an end to austerity and tax evasion. Most marches were peaceful, but demonstrators in Turin threw hollowed eggs filled with black paint at police. Pope Francis made a May Day appeal for governments to tackle unemployment, as 'work is fundamental to the dignity of a person'. 'I think of how many, and not just young people, are unemployed, many times due to a purely economic conception of society, which seeks selfish profit, beyond the parameters of social justice,' he told tens of thousands of people packed into St. Peter's Square for his weekly general audience. Fighting for workers' rights: Tens of thousands of demonstrators file down a street during a May Day march to Revolution Square in Havana, Cuba Smoke alarm: Workers burn a 'two-headed snake' effigy of Philippine President Benigno Aquino and Uncle Sam during a protest marking Labour Day in Manila Worldwide protest: Workers from various trade unions affiliated with the Unified Communist Party participate in a rally to mark May Day in Katmandu, Nepal Furious: Bangladeshi activists protest on International Workers Day in Dhaka, Bangladesh, to demand the execution of textile bosses over the collapse of a factory Traditional May Day marches were also taking place outside the eurozone. In Russia, about 1.5 million people were expected to take part in parades, a fraction of the millions that used to march in Soviet times. In south-east Asia, tens of thousands of low-paid workers took to the streets on May Day to demand higher wages, better benefits and improved working conditions a week after a building collapse in Bangladesh became a grim reminder of the dangers of lax safety regulations in poor countries. Laborers in Indonesia, Cambodia, the Philippines and elsewhere marched and chanted en masse, sounding complaints about being squeezed by big business amid the surging cost of living. Asia is the manufacturing ground for many of the world's largest multinational companies. Thousands of garment factory workers in Bangladesh also paraded through the streets calling for work safeguards and for the owner of the collapsed building to be sentenced to death.