Property damage and riots 15,000 people demonstrate in Zurich on May 1
Participants demonstrate at the traditional May Day procession. Some climbed onto the roof of a streetcar stop.
Image: KEYSTONE
Various incidents of damage to property took place in Zurich. For example, a McDonald's branch was sprayed.
Image: KEYSTONE
Demonstrators spray-painting a façade during the May Day demonstration.
Image: KEYSTONE
Facades were also sprayed.
Image: KEYSTONE
Participants of the left-wing autonomous bloc demonstrate at the Urania.
Image: KEYSTONE
Participants demonstrate at the traditional May Day procession. Some climbed onto the roof of a streetcar stop.
Image: KEYSTONE
Various incidents of damage to property took place in Zurich. For example, a McDonald's branch was sprayed.
Image: KEYSTONE
Demonstrators spray-painting a façade during the May Day demonstration.
Image: KEYSTONE
Facades were also sprayed.
Image: KEYSTONE
Participants of the left-wing autonomous bloc demonstrate at the Urania.
Image: KEYSTONE
Around 15,000 people demonstrated in Zurich on May 1st. The demonstration was largely peaceful, but there was also damage to property and clashes with the police.
01.05.2026, 10:27
01.05.2026, 13:14
SDA
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- Around 15,000 people demonstrated in Zurich on 1 May; the procession was largely peaceful, but the city center was blocked for a long time.
- There was damage to property, pyrotechnics and attacks on the police, who were present with a water cannon, from a radical left-wing block.
- The focus was on workers' rights; speakers criticized the SVP initiative, among other things, and called for solidarity.
In the city of Zurich, thousands of demonstrators took to the streets on Labor Day. The organizers counted 15,000, and many groups were still on the move when the final rally began.
The large demonstration was largely peaceful. However, there were isolated incidents of damage to property along the way. Masked people broke away from a large group of left-wing extremist organizations on Bahnhofstrasse. They sprayed walls and shop windows and set off firecrackers and pyrotechnics.
The police secured the route with a water cannon, among other things. Objects flew towards the police from the "revolutionary block" and the crowd chanted anti-police slogans.
Many Palestinian flags, flags with communist motifs, representatives of the SP, various trade unions, but also Kurdish and Tamil groups could be seen at the procession. The city center remained blocked for a long time and traffic came to a standstill.
Against the SVP initiative
The official procession led from Helvetiaplatz through the city center to Sechseläutenplatz. An Italian trade unionist and Zurich neo-national councillor Michèle Dünki-Bättig (SP) gave speeches at the final rally.
"This country cannot run without us workers," said Dünki-Bättig. Among other things, her speech was directed against the SVP's sustainability initiative. She called for employees to show solidarity and not allow themselves to be divided.
