Participants in a procession organised by the openly racist and fascist Blue and Black movement have clashed with counter-protesters at Jugendtori Square in Tampere.
An Yle reporter at the scene said that protesters threw blue and black eggs and smoke flares. Participants in the fascist march threw at least one of the smoke flares back at the counter-protesters.
A pole was thrown at a police car.
According to police in the south-central city, the throwing of smoke flares and other objects was dangerous due to the large crowds of people nearby. Jugendtori square is adjacent to Tampere's Central Square, which was full of May Day celebrants.
According to a video seen by Yle, one of the smoke flares landed next to a tent in the Market Square, but did not ignite it.
Police took several protesters into custody. They estimated that 50–100 people took part in the Blue-and-Black movement event, with approximately the same number of counter-protesters.
A day earlier, the Blue-and-Black Movement claimed that it had collected the required number of supporter cards to be re-registered as a political party.
The Supreme Administrative Court struck the movement off Finland's official register of political parties last year, saying that its goals were "incompatible with constitutional and human rights, and democratic principles".
The group said on May Day Eve that it planned to march in a "White May Day" procession in Tampere on Thursday.
