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Hundreds of hooded protesters caused chaos at an annual May Day demonstration in eastern Paris today, with some smashing the windows of a McDonald's restaurant and hurling petrol bombs inside. French police warned yesterday of possible clashes with far-left anarchist groups, known as Black Blocs, after a call on social media for a "Revolutionary Day". Authorities said mroe than a thousand hooded and masked protesters had turned up on the sidelines of today's planned demonstration by labour unions. Images also showed the smashed windows of a Renault garage on a road near the Austerlitz station and a construction vehicle in flames.

GETTY Paris May Day protests have spiralled out of control

The protesters moved towards riot police chanting anti-fascist slogans, waving Soviet flags and anti-government banners and throwing firecrackers. Some started to build barricades. The police used water cannon against some of the protesters. Photos show anarchists marching with flares and banners, before hooded protesters throw missiles at police. Shocking images show the windows of a McDonalds restaurant being kicked in before petrol bombs were thrown inside.

May Day rallies: Campaigners gather for anti-austerity marches Tue, May 1, 2018 London saw a large march, while far-left protestors have hijacked the Paris protest Play slideshow Wheatley/WENN 1 of 20 A masked protestor takes to the streets of London

Against a backdrop of mounting civil unrest, and on the 50th anniversary of the 1968 Paris uprising, the CGT union had organised workers and student unions to march from the Place de la Bastille south toward the Place d’Italie, despite concerns expressed by police ahead of the traditional May Day festivities. However, the march was slowed to a halt by a large group of demonstrators clad in black, with many wearing balaclavas and some with gas masks, who broke into a chant of “Everyone detests the police” on the Austerlitz bridge across the Seine. The Paris police prefecture estimated the size of the group at 1,200 so-called “black bloc” protesters.

#1erMai Il est temps pour moi pour mettre fin à ce live-tweet, merci de l'avoir suivi. Pour suivre le reste des événements, c'est dans notre direct animé par @ThomasBaietto. Bonne soirée ! https://t.co/kKz6dr4h7h — Yann Thompson (@yannthompson) May 1, 2018

Elsewhere cars and bins were trashed and set alight. Paris police chief Michel Delpuech said more than 200 demonstrators had been arrested and four people were lightly injured in the clashes, including a police officer. President Emmanuel Macron, elected last May on a promise to shake up France's creaking economy and spur jobs growth, is locked in a battle with the trade unions over his plans to liberalise labour regulations. Railway staff have begun three months of nationwide rolling strikes in a dispute over the government's planned overhaul of state-run railway SNCF.

REUTERS Far-left protestors at the Paris May Day march

The widespread incidents prompted Mr Macron, who is currently visiting Australia, to condemn the rioters – and pledge to bring the culprits to justice. He tweeted: "I condemn with absolute firmness the violence that took place today and derailed the May Day processions. "Everything will be done so that the perpetrators are identified and held responsible for their actions." Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux criticised the protesters for covering their faces. He said: "When you have sincere convictions, you demonstrate with your face unmasked. Those who wear hoods are the enemies of democracy."

GETTY Chaos on the streets on Paris following May Day marches

Interior Minister Gerard Collomb condemned the violence and said everything was being done to arrest the culprits. David Le Bars, a police union official, told BFM TV that security services had decided to let the protesters smash things rather than engage them to avoid casualties on either side that could exacerbate tensions. "They came to hit capitalist symbols and burn cops. When you come with Molotov cocktails, it's to burn cops," he said, citing clashes on May 1 last year in which one police officer was seriously burnt.

GETTY French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the rioters