Paris anti-Macron protest sees thousands take to streets

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Tens of thousands of demonstrators have taken to the streets in Paris to protest against the stream of economic reforms brought in by French President Emmanuel Macron since coming to power a year ago.

Protesters bearing "Stop Macron" banners and chanting "one year is enough" were cheered on by drummers and marching bands in an anti-celebration of Mr Macron's time in office organised by a member of the hard-left France Unbowed movement.

The carnivalesque atmosphere follows a tense May Day rally in Paris, when hundreds of masked and hooded anarchists torched cars and hurled rocks at police on Tuesday, hijacking a demonstration called by labour unions.

Saturday's demonstration, under a large police presence, comes almost a year to the day since 40-year-old Mr Macron won the presidential race on a centrist platform and with a pledge to shake-up rigid institutions and revitalise the economy.

A wave of reforms soon followed, including an overhaul of labour laws that has made it easier for companies to hire and fire, earning Mr Macron the tag of "president of the rich" among detractors and sparking discontent from labour unions.

With a political opposition in tatters, Mr Macron vowed to press on with his bid to reboot the economy, even as he faces one of his sternest tests to date with a rolling strike by rail workers protesting a shake-up at state-owned train company SNCF.

Members of France Unbowed, headed by Jean-Luc Melenchon who also stood for the presidency last year, have sought to fire up a backlash against Mr Macron's policies by getting backers onto the streets.

The party estimated 160,000 people took part in Saturday's protest — the Paris prefect's office put the tally at 40,000 — and France Unbowed is pushing to hold a much larger rally with unions and other forces on May 26.

"The issue here are the endless gifts being made to the rich while the French people are struggling," Mr Melenchon told TF1 television ahead of the march, which drew a diverse crowd, from hospital workers and parent groups to communist supporters.

There were a few isolated scuffles at the march and at least four people were arrested, while one policeman was injured, the police prefect's office said.

Yet despite simmering protest movements, on the 50th anniversary of the May 1968 student riots that brought France to its knees, unions have lost clout and the mood is far from revolutionary.

Some 45 per cent of French people gave Mr Macron's first year in office the thumbs up, according to a poll of more than 13,500 by Ipsos-Sopra Steria published on Saturday in Le Monde, with the planned overhaul of the SNCF proving the most popular reform.

But when asked about the government's reform methods, 55 per cent of people taking part in the survey said they thought they were too authoritarian.

Reuters

Topics: world-politics, france</s>Thousands protest against Macron under heavy security in Paris

PARIS: Depicting the object of their ire as Napoleon, Dracula, Jupiter, a banker-king and Margaret Thatcher, tens of thousands marched through central Paris on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s sweeping reforms, a year after he took office.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed just in case a generally good-natured rally went the same way as May Day protests hijacked by anarchists.

Marchers gathered from midday in warm early summer sunshine in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a “Party for Macron”, a tongue-in-cheek “celebration” of the 40-year-old centrist and former Rothschild banker’s first anniversary in power.

Paris police put the number of marchers at 40,000 but organisers said it was 160,000.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris variant kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood -- but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald’s restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more “black bloc” protesters could hijack Saturday’s event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words Mac-ron is disgusting,” a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast food chain.

Organisers insisted the march from Opera to the Bastille area, east of the city centre, would be “joyful and festive”.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears on Friday that the demonstration could turn violent, hence the high security.

He noted that the protest’s name, the “Fete a Macron”, can have a double meaning in French -- either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

“We are worried that there could be violence, and so we’re reinforcing security measures,” Griveaux said, adding the police role was to ensure peaceful demonstrations could go ahead.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including “down with the president of the rich”, “no to a social coup d’etat” and “for a Sixth Republic”.</s>Police were out in force in central Paris on Saturday as thousands of people protested against Emmanuel Macron’s sweeping reforms a year after he assumed the presidency.

About 2,000 members of the security forces including riot police were deployed as marchers gathered in warm spring sunshine in Opera square for a protest labelled a “party for Macron”, a tongue-in-cheek “celebration” of the 40-year-old centrist’s first anniversary in power.

The event kicked off with a mass picnic, and smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux.

Organisers urged participants to attend in a party mood, but security was tight after cars and a McDonald’s restaurant were torched during the traditional May Day demonstrations in the capital.

Benjamin Griveaux, a government spokesman, had expressed fears on Friday that the demonstration could turn violent.

He noted that the protest’s name, the “fête a Macron”, can have a double meaning in French - either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

“We are worried that there could be violence, and so we’re reinforcing security measures,” he said, adding the police role was to ensure a peaceful rally could go ahead.

The protest is the latest in a series of large demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have caused friction with various groups.

It was organised by François Ruffin, an MP for the leftwing party La France Insoumise, or France Unbowed, and other former members of the Nuit Debout, or Up All Night movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin said this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but “democracy does not mean shutting up for five years”. “People have the right to challenge him,” he said.</s>PARIS: Depicting the object of their ire as Napoleon, Dracula, Jupiter, a banker-king and Margaret Thatcher, tens of thousands marched through central Paris on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron's sweeping reforms, a year after he took office.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed just in case a generally good-natured rally went the same way as May Day protests hijacked by anarchists.

Marchers gathered from midday in warm early summer sunshine in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a "Party for Macron", a tongue-in-cheek "celebration" of the 40-year-old centrist and former Rothschild banker's first anniversary in power.

Paris police put the number of marchers at 40,000 but organisers said it was 160,000.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris variant kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood -- but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald's restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more "black bloc" protesters could hijack Saturday's event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words Mac-ron is disgusting," a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast food chain.

Organisers insisted the march from Opera to the Bastille area, east of the city centre, would be "joyful and festive."

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears Friday that the demonstration could turn violent, hence the high security.

He noted that the protest's name, the "Fete a Macron", can have a double meaning in French -- either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

"We are worried that there could be violence, and so we're reinforcing security measures," Griveaux said, adding the police role was to ensure peaceful demonstrations could go ahead.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including "down with the president of the rich," "no to a social coup d'etat" and "for a Sixth Republic."

The protest is the latest in a series of large street demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have been causing friction with various groups.

The demonstration was organised by firebrand LFI lawmaker Francois Ruffin and other ex-members of the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) leftist movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin told AFP this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but "democracy does not mean shutting up for five years".

"People have the right to challenge him," said Ruffin, a journalist whose documentary "Merci Patron", about a poor couple who take on France's richest man, captured an angry zeitgeist and filled cinemas in 2015.

Numerous university faculties remain blocked by protests against Macron's plans to make university access more selective, causing major disruption to students starting their summer exams.

And Friday marked the latest in a series of rail strikes as train drivers and other staff object to Macron's overhaul of the SNCF, aimed at reducing its massive debts and making it more competitive.

Many French leftists have called for Macron's opponents, from students to striking rail workers, to join forces in a re-run of the massive May 1968 protest movement that shook France exactly half a century ago.

Urging a peaceful rally as "violence gets us nowhere," LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said many French people wanted to see "deep societal change."

Saying that "a new cycle of mobilisation has begun," Melenchon also lauded public sector workers who he said deserved more credit.

Addressing supporters from a bus bearing the legend "When everything is privatised we shall be deprived of everything," he warned Macron many people were sickened by "endless gifts for the rich (given) the difficulty of the French people to make ends meet."</s>Thousands of people demonstrated in central Paris on Saturday amid a heavy police presence to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s sweeping reforms, a year after he came to office.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed as marchers gathered from midday in warm early summer sunshine in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a “Party for Macron”, a tongue-in-cheek “celebration” of the 40-year-old centrist’s first anniversary in power.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris variant kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood — but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald’s restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more “black bloc” protesters could hijack Saturday’s event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words Mac-ron is disgusting,” a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast food chain.

Organisers insisted the march from Opera to the Bastille area, east of the city centre, would be “joyful and festive.”

But government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears Friday that the demonstration could turn violent.

He noted that the protest’s name, the “Fete a Macron”, can have a double meaning in French — either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

“We are worried that there could be violence, and so we’re reinforcing security measures,” Griveaux said, adding the police role was to ensure peaceful demonstrations could go ahead.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including “down with the president of the rich,” “no to a social coup d’etat” and “for a Sixth Republic.”

The protest is the latest in a series of large street demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have been causing friction with various groups.

The demonstration was organised by firebrand LFI lawmaker Francois Ruffin and other ex-members of the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) leftist movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin told AFP this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but “democracy does not mean shutting up for five years”.

“People have the right to challenge him,” said Ruffin, a journalist whose documentary “Merci Patron”, about a poor couple who take on France’s richest man, captured an angry zeitgeist and filled cinemas in 2015.

Numerous university faculties meanwhile remain blocked by protests against Macron’s plans to make university access more selective, causing major disruption to students starting their summer exams.

And Friday marked the latest in a series of rail strikes as train drivers and other staff object to Macron’s overhaul of the SNCF, aimed at reducing its massive debts and making it more competitive.

Many French leftists have called for Macron’s opponents, from students to striking rail workers, to join forces in a re-run of the massive May 1968 protest movement that shook France exactly half a century ago.</s>Paris: Under the close watch of French police, thousands of protesters in Paris danced, picnicked and railed against President Emmanuel Macron at a "party" marking his first year in office.

Police fired tear gas on troublemakers on the margins of the largely festive protest on Saturday. Authorities deployed 2,000 police to the event after violence and ransacking scarred a May Day protest in the French capital earlier this week.

"Stop Macron!" read placards at Saturday's rally in front of Paris' famed Opera Garnier. Demonstrators then marched through tourist-filled neighborhoods toward the Bastille plaza in eastern Paris.

Organisers of Saturday's march, the far-left party Defiant France, planned the event around the one-year anniversary of Macron's May 7, 2017 election. He was inaugurated a week later, and quickly launched broad changes to France's labor rules to increase the nation's global competitiveness.

Protesters are angry at reforms led by Macron, a centrist former investment banker, such as cutting some worker protections and increasing police powers.</s>Paris, France | AFP | Depicting the object of their ire as Napoleon, Dracula, Jupiter, a banker-king and Margaret Thatcher, tens of thousands marched through central Paris on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s sweeping reforms, a year after he took office.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed just in case a generally good-natured rally went the same way as May Day protests hijacked by anarchists.

Marchers gathered from midday in warm early summer sunshine in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a “Party for Macron”, a tongue-in-cheek “celebration” of the 40-year-old centrist and former Rothschild banker’s first anniversary in power.

Paris police put the number of marchers at 40,000 but organisers said it was 160,000.

“It was not the huge influx that they had predicted,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said, denouncing what he called an “attack” on an outside broadcast van of Franceinfo radio in the eastern quarter of Bastille, where the march ended.

One of its windows was smashed and a smoke bomb thrown inside the vehicle.

“Luckily no journalist was inside when the smoke bomb was thrown,” Collomb said.

One policeman was slightly injured by a projectile following the incident but there were none of the scenes of violence seen days earlier at a May Day rally and the atmosphere was festive ahead of a concert planned in the evening.

Eight people were arrested throughout the day, police siad.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris one kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood — but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald’s restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more “black bloc” protesters could hijack Saturday’s event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words Mac-ron is disgusting,” a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast food chain.

– ‘Worried about violence’ –

 Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears Friday that the demonstration could turn violent, hence the high security.

He noted that the protest’s name, the “Fete a Macron”, can have a double meaning in French — either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including “down with the president of the rich”, “no to a social coup d’etat” and “for a Sixth Republic”.

The protest is the latest in a series of large street demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have been causing friction with various groups.

It was organised by firebrand LFI lawmaker Francois Ruffin and other ex-members of the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) leftist movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin told AFP this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but “democracy does not mean shutting up for five years”.

“People have the right to challenge him,” said Ruffin, a journalist whose documentary “Merci Patron”, about a poor couple who take on France’s richest man, captured an angry zeitgeist and filled cinemas in 2015.

Some university faculties remain blocked by protests against Macron’s plans to make university access more selective, causing major disruption to students starting their summer exams.

– New rally on May 26 –

 Friday marked the latest in a series of rail strikes as train drivers and other staff took a stand against Macron’s overhaul of the SNCF, aimed at reducing its massive debts and making it more competitive.

Many French leftists have called for Macron’s opponents, from students to striking rail workers, to join forces in a re-run of the massive May 1968 protest movement that shook France exactly half a century ago.

LFI leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said Saturday that many French people wanted to see “deep societal change”.

Saying that “a new cycle of mobilisation has begun”, Melenchon also lauded public sector workers who he said deserved more credit.

Since he was elected a year ago, Macron has set about transforming France, taking on the unions and the employment laws.

Addressing supporters from a bus bearing the slogan “when everything is privatised we shall be deprived of everything”, he warned Macron many people were sickened by “endless gifts for the rich (given) the difficulty of the French people to make ends meet”.

Melenchon said Saturday was just the “first stage” of protests, announcing a new rally on May 26 and exhorting people to “turn up in their millions to become a human sea that will change history”.

The post Tens of thousands stage anti-Macron protest in Paris appeared first on The Independent Uganda:.

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This post was syndicated from The Independent Uganda:. Click here to read the full text on the original website.</s>A picture depicting French president Emmanuel Macron as Louis XVI is seen during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: Thomas SAMSON / AFP

Members of Parlament hold a banner which translates "No to the social coup" during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: Thomas SAMSON / AFP

Protesters hold French communist party's flags during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Anti riot police stand near a metro station's entrance during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Unionists march during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

A protester holds a placard which translates as "Revolution in motion" in a play on words with the name of the ruling party "En marche" (in motion) during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president . Photo: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

Protesters hold placards which translate as "For peace" and "For the 6th Republique" during a rally called to protest against policies of the French president on the first anniversary of his election, on May 5, 2018 in central Paris. Photo: GERARD JULIEN / AFP

PARIS - Thousands of people demonstrated in central Paris on Saturday amid a heavy police presence, protesting against President Emmanuel Macron's sweeping reforms.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed as marchers gathered from midday in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a "Party for Macron", a tongue-in-cheek "celebration" of the 40-year-old centrist's first anniversary in power.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris variant kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood, but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald's restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more "black bloc" protesters could hijack Saturday's event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words "Mac-ron is disgusting", a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast-food chain.

Organisers insisted the march from the Opera to the Bastille area, east of the city centre, would be "joyful and festive".

But government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears on Friday that the demonstration could turn violent.

He noted that the protest's name, the "Fete a Macron", can have a double meaning in French -- either celebrating someone or trying to do them harm.

"We are worried that there could be violence, and so we're reinforcing security measures," Griveaux said, adding the police role was to ensure peaceful demonstrations could go ahead.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including "Down with the president of the rich", "No to a social coup d'etat" and "For a Sixth Republic".

The protest is the latest in a series of large street demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have caused friction with various groups.

The demonstration was organised by firebrand LFI lawmaker Francois Ruffin and other former members of the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) leftist movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin told AFP this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but "democracy does not mean shutting up for five years".

"People have the right to challenge him," said Ruffin, a journalist whose documentary "Merci Patron", about a poor couple who take on France's richest man, captured an angry zeitgeist and filled cinemas in 2015.

Numerous university faculties meanwhile remain blocked by protests against Macron's plans to make university access more selective, causing major disruption to students starting their summer exams.

And Friday marked the latest in a series of rail strikes as train drivers and other staff objected to Macron's overhaul of the SNCF rail company, aimed at reducing its massive debts and making it more competitive.

Many French leftists have called for Macron's opponents, from students to striking rail workers, to join forces in a rerun of the massive May 1968 protest movement that shook France exactly half a century ago.

Click on the image box above for a gallery from the Paris march.</s>Depicting the object of their ire as Napoleon, Dracula, Jupiter, a banker-king and Margaret Thatcher, tens of thousands marched through central Paris on Saturday to protest against President Emmanuel Macron’s sweeping reforms, a year after he took office.

Some 2,000 security forces including riot police were deployed just in case a generally good-natured rally went the same way as May Day protests hijacked by anarchists.

Marchers gathered from midday in warm early summer sunshine in the central Opera square for a protest dubbed a “Party for Macron”, a tongue-in-cheek “celebration” of the 40-year-old centrist and former Rothschild banker’s first anniversary in power.

Paris police put the number of marchers at 40,000 but organisers said it was 160,000.

“It was not the huge influx that they had predicted,” Interior Minister Gerard Collomb said, denouncing what he called an “attack” on an outside broadcast van of Franceinfo radio in the eastern quarter of Bastille, where the march ended.

One of its windows was smashed and a smoke bomb thrown inside the vehicle.

“Luckily no journalist was inside when the smoke bomb was thrown,” Collomb said.

Smaller rallies took place in the southern cities of Toulouse and Bordeaux while the Paris one kicked off with a mass picnic which drew numerous families.

Organisers had urged participants to attend in a party mood — but the high security owed much to hundreds of black-clad youths having torched cars and a McDonald’s restaurant during traditional May 1 demonstrations in the capital, prompting fears that more “black bloc” protesters could hijack Saturday’s event.

One protester held aloft a placard with the words Mac-ron is disgusting,” a play on words to show his feelings about the president and the fast food chain.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux had expressed fears Friday that the demonstration could turn violent, hence the high security.

He noted that the protest’s name, the “Fete a Macron”, can have a double meaning in French — either celebrating someone, or trying to do them harm.

Some supporters of the left-wing populist La France Insoumise party (LFI) brandished anti-Macron banners with slogans including “down with the president of the rich”, “no to a social coup d’etat” and “for a Sixth Republic”.

The protest is the latest in a series of large street demonstrations against Macron, whose overhauls of everything from the education system to the state rail operator have been causing friction with various groups.

It was organised by firebrand LFI lawmaker Francois Ruffin and other ex-members of the Nuit Debout (Up All Night) leftist movement that staged nocturnal rallies across France in 2016.

Ruffin told AFP this week that Macron may have won a democratic election last May but “democracy does not mean shutting up for five years”.

“People have the right to challenge him,” said Ruffin, a journalist whose documentary “Merci Patron”, about a poor couple who take on France’s richest man, captured an angry zeitgeist and filled cinemas in 2015.

Some university faculties remain blocked by protests against Macron’s plans to make university access more selective, causing major disruption to students starting their summer exams.

Friday marked the latest in a series of rail strikes as train drivers and other staff took a stand against Macron’s overhaul of the SNCF, aimed at reducing its massive debts and making it more competitive.

Many French leftists have called for Macron’s opponents, from students to striking rail workers, to join forces in a re-run of the massive May 1968 protest movement that shook France exactly half a century ago.

Addressing supporters from a bus bearing the slogan “when everything is privatised we shall be deprived of everything”, he warned Macron many people were sickened by “endless gifts for the rich (given) the difficulty of the French people to make ends meet”.

Melenchon said Saturday was just the “first stage” of protests, announcing a new rally on May 26 and exhorting people to “turn up in their millions to become a human sea that will change history”.</s>Thousands party at Paris protest to show anger at Macron

PARIS (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters in Paris danced, picnicked and railed against President Emmanuel Macron at a "party" marking his first year in office.

Police fired tear gas on troublemakers on the margins of the largely festive protest Saturday, and eight people were arrested. Authorities deployed 2,000 police to the event after violence and ransacking scarred a May Day protest in the French capital earlier this week, shocking many.

"Stop Macron!" read placards at Saturday's rally in front of Paris' famed Opera Garnier. Demonstrators then marched through tourist-filled neighborhoods toward the Bastille plaza in eastern Paris.

Organizers of Saturday's march, the far-left party Defiant France, planned the event around the one-year anniversary of Macron's May 7, 2017 election. He was inaugurated a week later, and quickly launched broad changes to France's labor rules to increase the nation's global competitiveness.

Protesters are angry at reforms led by Macron, a centrist former investment banker, such as cutting some worker protections and increasing police powers.

"This regime is a regime that's an authoritarian regime. We are in a soft dictatorship and we have concerns about guarantees of individual freedoms and the guarantee of fundamental rights," said protester Roselyne Gonle-Luillier, a judge.

Macron won the presidency on a wave of disillusionment at France's traditional parties, beating far-right Marine Le Pen in a runoff. He has raised France's international profile — but at home many voters are disgruntled and fear that he his dismantling the French way of life.

"What we want specifically is to resist, show him (Macron) our anger, show him that there are some French people who did not vote for him, do not agree with what he is trying to do," said Sylvie Brissonneau, who will soon retire. One of Macron's reforms is raising taxes for retirees.

The party atmosphere Saturday was a relief after the May Day violence, which saw protesters torch cars and vandalize a McDonald's restaurant and other stores. A judicial official said Saturday that seven people have been charged in the May Day unrest. Authorities blamed more than 1,000 masked attackers from an anarchist group called the Black Blocs who disrupted a peaceful workers march.

At Saturday's march, organizers said they were in regular contact with the police to avoid serious damage.
Thousands of people in central Paris demonstrate in an anti-Macron protest against his sweeping reforms. 2,000 security forces are deployed.