The traditional May Day demonstrations took a particularly political turn in France on Sunday, with right and left opponents of President Emmanuel Macron trying to accredit the idea of a “third round” after the presidential election, a few weeks before the elections. legislative elections. Participation was slightly up compared to 2021. Third political but also social round for the trade unions, which call on the President of the Republic who has just been re-elected to hear the popular discontent, fueled by the nagging question of purchasing power but also by the Head of State’s controversial plan to raise the legal retirement age to 65. Before the departure of the Parisian procession, which must connect in the afternoon the place of the Republic to that of the Nation, Jean-Luc Mélenchon urged the other formations of the left and the ecologists to join without delay La France Insoumise (LFI ) within a “Popular Union” in order to achieve a majority opposed to Emmanuel Macron in the Assembly. The Communist Party on Saturday deemed the LFI proposals insufficient, the Socialist Party having itself suspended discussions on an alliance the day before. “I do not understand why the comrades of the Communist Party announced this morning that they were withdrawing from the negotiations. I form the wish that they return quickly”, declared the deputy of Bouches-du-Rhône. “The subject is whether we set ourselves the goal of victory,” added Jean-Luc Mélenchon, who sees himself in this hypothesis as the cohabitation Prime Minister of Emmanuel Macron. A few dozen meters away, LFI activists brandished a banner calling for deputies to be sent with the program “Freezing of prices, retirement at 60, Smic at 1,400 euros”. At the beginning of the afternoon, some clashes took place between the police and demonstrators dressed in black, the usual uniform of the “black blocks”, who were trying, according to the police headquarters, to erect barricades and to also attack a McDonald’s restaurant on the route of the Parisian demonstration. Demonstrators, who chanted “anti-capitalist” slogans, also attacked several real estate agencies located on Boulevard Voltaire in the 11th arrondissement, Reuters journalists noted on the spot. At the end of the afternoon, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin, announced that 8 police officers had been injured. This violence led to the arrest of 45 thugs. The author of the attack on a firefighter was also arrested, according to the Ministry of the Interior. Demonstrations of May 1: 8 police officers injured and 45 thugs arrested, announces Gérald Darmanin The author of the attack on a firefighter was also arrested, according to the Minister of the Interior \u2935 pic.twitter.com/GMDK0IZQOC— BFMTV (@BFMTV) May 1, 2022 Disagreements of the PS on Europe Olivier Faure, the first secretary of the PS, declared Sunday on France Inter wishing the union of the left, acknowledging however the differences and in particular challenging the term “disobedience European” used by LFI to challenge the policy of Brussels. At the other end of the political spectrum, Marine Le Pen, Rassemblement National (RN) candidate beaten by Emmanuel Macron in the second round of the presidential election, also hopes to get her revenge on June 12 and 19. “You will have the choice between deputies subject to Emmanuel Macron who will blindly pass all his decisions without counter-power, and deputies who support my project and my values for France”, she declared in a video posted on his Twitter account. Marine Le Pen had exceptionally left this year Jordan Bardella, acting president of the RN, the care of laying the traditional wreath of flowers in the morning in front of the statue of Joan of Arc in Paris. The latter repeated on this occasion that the RN would present candidates in all the constituencies, thus once again rejecting calls for the union of Reconquest!, the far-right movement of former journalist Eric Zemmour. Participation on the rise The mobilization was higher than last year throughout France, where the CGT claimed 210,000 demonstrators, against 170,000 last year. The Interior Ministry reported 116,500 protesters compared to 106,650 in 2021.