Police detain 67 people during May Day demonstrations in Berlin

German law enforcement officers detained 67 people during May Day rallies and demonstrations held on May 1 in Berlin.

“The first of May this year was even more peaceful than last year,” said police chief Barbara Slowik, TASS reports citing DPA.

Some 58 men and nine women were preliminarily detained. Moreover, 99 investigations started, including disturbing the peace, resisting and assaulting law enforcement officers, damaging property and inflicting dangerous bodily harm.

According to police, nine employees were injured, most of them with bruises. In total, as of May 1, about 7,100 police officers were on duty in the German capital, of which almost 2,600 were from other federal states.

About 28,000 people attended 19 rallies held on May 1 in Berlin. One of the largest demonstrations to protest against social inequality took place in Berlin's Kreuzberg district, which was organized by the association Revolutionaerer 1. Mai Berlin.

Approximately 12,000 people took part in the procession, initially the organizers reported 20,000 participants.

From year to year, the actions of left-wing radicals in Kreuzberg on May Day end in clashes with the police. The first and most mass riots on May Day took place there in 1987.

The radicals then set fire to dozens of cars, smashed supermarkets, set fire to the metro station. The police managed to liberate the district only on the night of May 3. In the last 10 years, the riots have become less and less large-scale.