The pandemic has muted the marking of May Day, with celebrations of the world’s workers having to be balanced by safety considerations.
Social distancing was in evidence at many of the events although in some countries the stringent lockdown measures presented different challenges for protesters and police alike.
Arrests were made in Turkey, while the Guy Fawkes masks favoured at previous demonstrations had been superseded by medical masks in light of the threat to public health.
Workers Unions keep a safe distance from each other and wear face masks to help protect against the spread of coronavirus during an event marking May Day in Lisbon, Portugal (Armando Franca/AP)
Protesters practise social distancing during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament, in Athens (AP)
Riot police stand guard as pro-democracy activists gather outside a shopping centre during Labour Day in Hong Kong (Kin Cheung/AP)
Turkish police officers, wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus, arrest a demonstrator (Emrah Gurel/AP)
Members of the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions make their point (Lee Jin-man/AP)
A masked protester from the communist party-affiliated PAME union holds a carnation during a May Day rally outside the Greek Parliament (Petros Giannakouris/AP)
People protest during a May Day demonstration in Paris (Thibault Camus/AP)
