Ali Yerlikaya, Minister of Interior, said that 217 people were detained by the Turkish police on Wednesday after rubber bullets and tear gas were used to prevent protesters from reaching Taksim Square in Istanbul, which is the traditional focus for May Day rallies.

On the eve May Day, President Tayyip Erdoan said that police had cordoned-off Taksim Square and would not allow the annual protests to take place there.

Legal experts claim that this position violates the rights of Turks to hold public meetings and protests. This right was upheld by the Constitutional Court last October in a decision.

Ozgur Ozel is the leader of the main opposition Republican People’s Party in Turkey (CHP). He called for the rally on the square to continue despite the ban issued by the Istanbul Governor’s Office.

If May 1 isn’t celebrated on the main square of the country, democracy is in danger. Ozel, who spoke to reporters in Sarachane on Wednesday, said that the struggle would continue until Taksim was free.

Ozel, along with Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu who was reelected on the CHP ticket this year, joined union and worker members in a march to Taksim Square, nearby, where they protested against inflation and economic hardships.

A video on X shows that the May Day organising group announced shortly after the police intervention the end of the Sarachane demonstration, causing angry jeers in the crowd.

Reuters showed a video showing that authorities had placed snipers at the Valens Aqueduct, a historic landmark in Sarachane, and built a barricade of water cannons and dozens police officers to block all access routes.

As they attempted to breach barricades, some protesters threw rocks at security forces.

Yerlikaya reported that more than 42,000 officers of police had been drafted to Istanbul for the annual demonstrations held in honor of International Labour Day.

Taksim Square is often the focal point of protests, as it was here that 34 people were murdered during demonstrations in May 1977.