Turkish police fired tear gas and water cannon and detained more than 200 people after scuffles broke out at May Day celebrations in Istanbul and some anti-government protesters tried to breach a ban on access to the main Taksim square. Around 24,500 members of the security forces were deployed for the May Day celebrations, according to the Istanbul governor’s office. Police scanned the streets from helicopters overhead. Taksim square was home to May Day celebrations until 1977, when dozens of people were killed during demonstrations, dubbed the ‘bloody May Day’. The square was reopened for celebrations in the late 2000s but was shut again in 2013.
— source reuters.com