Several thousand people marched through the streets of Paris on Saturday to protest against Emmanuel Macron and his politics, ahead of the first anniversary of the French president's election.
A dpa reporter saw protesters marching through the centre of the French capital holding placards bearing slogans such as ‘Stop Macron.’ Following riots by a hard-left group on the sidelines of the traditional May Day marches by trades unions in Paris earlier in the week, police had said they were planning to beef up security, with 2,000 officers to be deployed.
The protesters included students and railway staff, who have been striking for several weeks.
Macron's critics say his economic and social reforms favour corporations and the wealthier in society. The organizers have ironically named their demonstration ‘Celebration of Macron and his World.’
The government has criticized the demonstration against the backdrop of the May Day riots. Leftist politician Jean-Luc Melenchon countered that Macron ‘can't stand any opposition.’
Melenchon was among the protesters on Saturday. It was a member of his La France Insoumise (France Unbowed) party that initiated the demonstrations.
Monday marks a year since Macron was elected president.
The president was thousands of kilometres away from the protests on Saturday as he ended a visit to the French overseas territory of New Caledonia in the South Pacific.