People take to streets, squares across Europe to celebrate May Day

By Ahmet Gencturk

ATHENS (AA) – People took to the streets and squares on Wednesday across Europe to celebrate May Day.

In the Greek capital city of Athens, thousands of people, including students, public and private sector workers, and pensioners gathered at and around central Syntagma Square upon the call by left-wing trade unions and political parties.

The participants also carried Palestinian flags and banners with solidarity messages in support of the Palestinian people and the protesting university students in the US.

Palestinian Ambassador in Athens Yussef Dorkhom also addressed the crowd and thanked them for the solidarity they showed with Palestine.

International Workers' Day, also known as Labor Day in some countries and often referred to as May Day, is marked every year on May 1 to pay tribute to laborers around the world.

In Italy, tens of thousands of people gathered in the northern city of Monfalcone, which was chosen to host this year’s celebrations by the country’s major trade unions, according to state-run ANSA news agency.

In France, responding to the call by major trade unions and student associations, people from across the country, including Marseille, Reims, and Lyon, gathered at the city squares to mark the day, according to broadcaster BFMTV.

Earlier today, the CGT trade union announced that some 265 rallies are expected to take place across the country on the occasion of Labor Day.

In the Bulgarian capital city of Sofia, thousands of people, who came from different parts of the country, marched through the main streets of the city, demanding higher wages and better social security benefits, the state-run BTA news agency reported.