Turkish police detained 217 people on May 1, Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, after tear gas and rubber bullets were used to stop the protesters reaching Taksim Square, the traditional focal point of May Day rallies in Istanbul.
Earlier, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on the eve of May Day that the annual protests would not be allowed to take place on Taksim Square, which was cordoned off by police.
Authorities had deployed snipers on the historic Valens Aqueduct in Sarachane and created a barricade with water cannon vehicles and dozens of police officers, blocking all routes to the square.
Some protesters threw stones at security forces as they tried to breach the barricades.
