Chanting "France for the French," at least 10,000 supporters of far-right presidential contender Jean-Marie Le Pen marched in Paris as a wave of opponents demonstrated against him across the country ahead of Sunday's runoff election against President Jacques Chirac.

Indonesian policemen disperse labor activist during international May Day in Indonesia's second biggest city of Surabaya on May 1, 2002. Thousands of Indonesian labors throughout the nation staged protests to mark May Day. The workers demanded better conditions and welfare for workers. REUTERS/Str

Marchers young and old carried signs saying "Le Pen for President" and "Proud to be French" and waved French flags under the watchful eye of ranks of police ahead of a massive anti-Le Pen demonstration due later in the day.

In Germany, one woman was fighting for her life after violence marking May Day erupted in two leftist districts of Berlin. It began when a group of around 500 anarchists lit a large fire on a main street and then pelted the fire brigade with bottles and stones.

Police used water cannon against the demonstrators and hundreds of riot police moved in. Dozens of people suffered facial cuts from hurled bottles after what was planned as a peaceful anti-Nazi demonstration.

Scores of cyclists converged on the U.S. embassy in London, blocking traffic at the start of anti-pollution and anti-capitalism protests which drew thousands of demonstrators to the British capital.

Amid fears a hard core of activists were bent on violence, up to 6,000 police flooded the city and businesses boarded up their windows.

Almost every country in the world marks May day in one way or another, and the date is officially recognized by the United Nations as International Labour Day.

WORKERS' RIGHTS

In other world capitals, trade unionists marched in more traditional May Day parades, calling for better workers' rights and an end to violence in the Middle East.

"Long live international solidarity to Palestine," read a red banner in Syndagma Square in central Athens, where thousands of demonstrators had gathered.

In Australia, where trade unions still have much influence on government, police arrested dozens of people after scuffles broke out at a picket to protest against the country's immigration policies.

Although thousands of people also staged peaceful labor demonstrations, union officials expressed concern their cause was being hijacked by fringe groups.

"It's the traditional day of international solidarity for working people. The methods used to promote these other causes are a concern for us...detract from May Day," said John Robertson, secretary of the New South Wales Labor Council.

In warm Italian sunshine some 18,000 people gathered in front of the basilica of St. Peter's in the Vatican to listen to Pope John Paul deliver his May Day audience.

"Today is Labour Day... through work, man becomes more human. But for hard work to allow man to become more human it must always exist within a social framework," he said.

COMMUNISTS OVERSHADOWED

In Moscow, pro-Kremlin parties and trade unions stole the show from the communists by staging an estimated 140,000-strong rally on the Red Square -- something the country has not seen since the Soviet days.

President Vladimir Putin welcomed the demonstrators. In a message that was read out to the well-organized flower-waving crowd, he hailed the action by the unions and the Kremlin's key ally United Russia bloc as helping build a better future.

The communists held a rally nearby to demand an immediate government resignation.

Communist authorities in China, which once derided private enterprise as evil capitalism, showed just how much things had changed by canonizing entrepreneurs as "model workers," awarding special medals to successful businessmen.

Malaysian authorities arrested 17 people in the capital, Kuala Lumpur, after labor activists marched through the city center with banners calling for better rights for plantation workers.

"May Day is an act of solidarity, recognized even by the state," organizers said. "The police action mocks fundamental rights of workers to assemble peacefully."

Elsewhere, hundreds of prostitutes took to the streets of Calcutta in India to press for rights and recognition.

Copyright © 2002 Reuters Limited

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