15,000 people demonstrate in Zurich on May 1

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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.

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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.

Thousands gathered for the official May Day parade in Zurich.

Keystone

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.