To prevent people from getting to Taksim Square, where protests have been prohibited since 2013, public transportation was suspended.
Video from the Turkish capital showed protesters and riot police fighting, with protesters yelling while police pushed detainees onto busses.
Following the imprisonment of Ekrem Imamoglu, the opposition mayor and Turkey’s top opponent to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the city saw massive protests in March.
In many countries, International Labor Day is celebrated on May 1st with marches led by unions and workers.
With police and metal barriers along all routes leading to the area, Taksim Square, the center of Istanbul, was under strict lockdown.
