As May Day activities heat up here in the U.S., Europe is already in the thick of things. France, of course, is in the workers rights lead–managing to bring out tens of thousands (as compared to–um, NONE where I live).

From the BBC News:

Some 300 rallies are taking place across France, which has already seen strikes by hospital staff, fishermen and university staff, among others.

Across the country, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets in cities such as Marseille, Bordeaux and Grenoble, ahead of a major demonstration in Paris.

This year’s traditional Labour Day in France comes against a backdrop of mounting social tension, reports the BBC’s Paris correspondent Emma Jane Kirby.

There is a growing perception that little has been done to protect the ordinary person’s job and wages, while executives from banks bailed out by the government have enjoyed generous pay-offs and bonuses, she says.

The country’s eight main unions have urged people to come out and protest in their third such day of action this year.

Violence erupted in Istanbul as hundreds of left-wing and trade union groups tried to pass through police checkpoints into the city’s main Taksim square.

The protesters had been refused permission to hold rallies in the square but, as in previous years, they chose to ignore the ban, reports the BBC’s David O’Byrne in Istanbul.

The marchers took to the back streets after they were met with police water cannon, and hurled stones and other missiles at police who responded by firing tear gas.

When capitalism exists as a world wide economic structure, it doesn’t make much sense to me to have an ununionized work force. Make no mistake, unions have their problems–they aren’t the perfect solution to all the problems works face. But they’re the best thing the worker has right now–and workers are *entitled* to the protection (however limited) unions can bring them.

Solidarity forever!