Paris burns in riot
A POLICE officer was engulfed in flames as protests turned violent at the traditional May 1 union marches on the streets of Paris.
At least six police officers were injured in the march.
Officers clashed with masked youths, who threw molotov cocktails. Police responded with teargas.
One riot police officer was completely engulfed in flames.
Interior Minister Matthias Fekl condemned the violence and said one officer was seriously burned on the hand while another had serious burns to the face, without saying which was the officer in the photograph.
Far-Right presidential candidate Marine Le Pen tweeted: “This is the sort of mess ... that I no longer want to see on our streets.”
With six days before the presidential run-off, frontrunner Emmanuel Macron attacked Ms Le Pen in a feisty speech. He told supporters he would defend “free democracy” if voters chose him.
The traditional union-led marches underlined the conspicuous absence of the united front shown in 2002 when Ms Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie shocked the country by reaching the run-off.
On May 1, 15 years ago, some 1.3 million people took to the streets of France in unionled demonstrations to protest against the founder of the National Front. That show of force helped the centre-Right’s Jacques Chirac inflict a crushing defeat on Mr Le Pen.
This time, with Left-wing candidates eliminated in the first round, the Left is deeply divided over the choice between Mr Le Pen’s 48-yearold daughter and Mr Macron, a 39-year-old former investment banker.
Two unions have called for their members to back Mr Macron. But while three other more Left-wing unions have called for demonstrations against Ms Le Pen’s vision of French identity, they have stopped short of backing Mr Macron, whose economically liberal outlook worries many members.