Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
Members of Argentina's main labor unions demonstrated in Buenos Aires on Wednesday, ahead of International Workers' Day, to protest President Javier Milei's austerity policies and to pay tribute to the late Pope Francis. (Victor R. Caivano)
People across Asia have kicked off May Day celebrations with marches and protests. Many of Thursday's demonstrations across Asia focused on U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs, which have affected the global economy, with a knock-on effect on workers.
An activist raises his clenched fist during a May Day rally in Manila, Philippines, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Aaron Favila)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions gather to attend a rally on May Day in Seoul, South Korea, Thursday, May 1, 2025. The letters read "Let's win basic labor rights." (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)
A supporter of the Iraqi Communist Party waves with a symbolic hammer and sickle and the communist flags as they take part in the May Day celebration in Baghdad, Iraq, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)
A union member is detained by Turkish police officers as he marches with others during Labor Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)
Taiwanese workers shout slogans during a May Day rally in Taipei, Taiwan, Thursday, May 1, 2025. (AP Photo/Chiang Ying-ying)
PARIS (AP) - French union leaders condemned the "Trumpization" of world politics, while in Italy, May Day protesters paraded a puppet of the American president through the streets of Turin.
Across continents, hundreds of thousands turned out for Thursday's rallies marking International Workers' Day, many united in anger over U.S. President Donald Trump's agenda - from aggressive tariffs stoking fears of global economic turmoil to immigration crackdowns.
In the United States, organizers framed this year's protests as a pushback against what they called a sweeping assault on labor protections, diversity initiatives and federal employees.
In Germany, union leaders warned that extended workdays and rising anti-immigrant sentiment were dismantling labor protections. In Bern, Switzerland, thousands marched behind banners denouncing fascism and war - part of a wider backlash against the global surge of hard-right politics.
In France, union leaders predicted hundreds of thousands would join demonstrations across the country, fueled by anger over U.S. military and trade influence in Europe. Far-left leader Jean-Luc Mélenchon condemned Washington's role in global instability, accusing the U.S. of pushing Europe toward conflict and economic subservience.