Police have clashed with protesters in major cities across Europe as workers held traditional May Day rallies in a backdrop of simmering unrest across the continent.

More than 200 people were arrested in Paris after anarchists and gilets jaunes protesters joined trade unionists on the streets, clashing briefly with 7,400 police, who used tear gas on a crowd.

Police also clashed with protesters in Gothenburg, Sweden’s second city, where anti-fascist protesters threw cobblestones and fireworks as they tried to reach a neo-Nazi rally.

In Copenhagen, police tried to split off black-clad anarchists from the main May Day march by encircling protesters with vans and making a handful of arrests.

There were also scenes of heavy-handed policing in Russia, where activists say more than 100 people have been arrested across the country, with at least 68 detentions in St Petersburg, according to activists.

Some protesters carried placards that read “Putin is not immortal” in reference to the Russian president Vladimir Putin, who has been at the helm of the country since 2000. Many of the protesters are supporters of opposition leader Alexei Navalny.

Russian authorities say around 100,000 people took part in peaceful May Day rallies in Moscow, an event staged by Kremlin-sanctioned trade unions. Observer group OVD-Info says six activists were detained in the Russian capital before the morning rallies.

Separately, Russian police in the remote far-eastern Russian city of Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky arrested 10 people after they turned up to a May Day rally wearing yellow vests – in an apparent nod to the French protest movement.

Riot police officers detain protesters during a rally in St Petersburg (AP)

In Istanbul, police detained May Day demonstrators who attempted to march towards the symbolic central Taksim Square, in defiance of a ban. The Turkish government cited security risks and only allowed small trade union delegations through to the square to lay wreaths there.

May Day rallies also took place in around a dozen cities in Germany. There, the country’s trade union federation used the occasion to urge its members to participate in the upcoming European parliament elections later this month. The DGB, whose unions total six million members, said the EU was responsible for securing social rights, from paid holiday to maternity protection.

Police take on protesters and neo-Nazis in clash during May Day riots in Sweden

The union confederation said in a statement that the Brexit vote in the UK “shows what happens if those who stoke fear but have no plan for the future gain the upper hand”.

In Berlin itself, car-sharing firm Miles warned its users not to park its cars near an area where May Day protests were expected to be held. Rallies in the past have erupted into violence and ended with cars being torched. Tens of thousands of activists in Berlin are using the occasion to protest against gentrification and the rising cost of living in the city.

In pictures: May Day rallies around the world Show all 19 1 /19 In pictures: May Day rallies around the world In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-2.jpg Garment workers shout slogans during the May day celebration as they demand the punishment of Sohel Rana, the owner of the collapsed building in Dhaka, Bangladesh EPA In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-21.jpg Supporters of the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party reflect on an advertising box during a May Day march in Sofia, Bulgaria Getty Images In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-3.jpg Riot police walk through a cloud of tear gas as they clash with May Day protesters trying to break through barricades to reach the city's main square in central Istanbul Reuters In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-4.jpg Protestors clash with Turkish riot police during the May Day rally in Istanbul, Turkey EPA In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-6.jpg Supporters of the Ivorian "Dignite" (dignity) union, close to former president's IVorian Front Populaire (FPI) party, shout during a demonstration on May Day in Abidjan Getty Images In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-5.jpg Protesters gather as clashes erupt with police during May Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-9.jpg Clashes erupt between police and protesters during May Day celebrations in Istanbul, Turkey AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-8.jpg Supporters of France's far-right National Front Marine Le Pen wave flags during the traditional May Day march in Paris AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-10.jpg Protesters, mostly workers, dance around the effigies of U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a rally near the Presidential Palace to mark May Day in Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-11.jpg Members of the pro-government Belarusian Republican Youth Union (BRSM) attend an official May Day rally in Minsk Getty Images In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-12.jpg France's far-right National Front party members chant slogans during the traditional May Day demonstration in Paris AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-13.jpg A pensioner burns a poster showing German Chancellor Angela Merkel dressed in a Nazi uniform in front of the Greek Parliament during a rally marking May Day in central Athens, Greece EPA In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-14.jpg A man attends a rally to mark Labour Day, or May Day, in Tbilisi Reuters In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-15.jpg Protesters, mostly workers, burn effigies of U.S. President Barack Obama and Philippine President Benigno Aquino III during a rally near the Presidential Palace to mark May Day in Manila, Philippines AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-16.jpg Supporters of the nationalist party Red and Black march on the Tiranaís main boulevard during a May Day protest demanding the resignation of Premier Sali Berisha Getty Images In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-17.jpg Protesters gesture during a May Day demonstration in Berlin Reuters In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-18.jpg Reuters In pictures: May Day rallies around the world may-day-19.jpg A man wearing a cap with the communist five-point star holds a poster reading: "Socialism, the only way out" during a May Day rally on International Workers Day in central Belgrade, Serbia AP In pictures: May Day rallies around the world AP

In the Greek capital of Athens, three separate May Day rallies took place, organised by rival groups. A series of strikes by trade unions across the country to mark international workers’ day has left the capital without bus and metro services, and the whole country without national rail and island ferry services – leaving some municipalities isolated from the rest of the country.