Hundreds detained during May Day protests in Turkey

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkish authorities detained over 500 May Day demonstrators on Friday for attempting to march in areas declared off-limits.

Protests marking International Workers’ Day, a national holiday in Turkey, are frequently marred by clashes with authorities, which have declared Istanbul’s central Taksim Square a no-go area for protesters on security grounds. More than 30 people were killed in violence at the square during May Day protests in 1977.

On Friday, small groups of protesters kept popping up around Taksim Square, attempting to breach the police blockade, holding union banners and chanting for the square to be reopened.

The main gathering point was the nearby Mecidiyekoy district, where hundreds of participants were met with water cannons and pepper spray before being detained.

The detentions come a day after Turkey’s top Constitutional Court ruled that three people who were detained for 58 days in 2024 on May Day had their right to peaceful assembly violated, setting a precedent for May Day protests.

The Istanbul governor’s office said that the public had been informed of the safety precautions beforehand. “Certain marginal groups dismissed the precautions, and clashed with police officers as they do every year,” it said, adding that 575 people were detained by 6 p.m. Friday.

Turkish police officers stand guard as union members try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

A woman shouts at Turkish police officers as union members try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

An union member is detained by a Turkish police officer as people try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

Union members scuffle with Turkish police officers as they try to march towards Taksim square in Istanbul, Turkey, Friday, May 1, 2026, during Labor Day celebrations. (AP Photo/Khalil Hamra)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Friday said he’s still weighing a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit Airlines.

The president didn’t offer details about the proposal but told reporters as he prepared to leave the White House for a trip to Florida that he would have an announcement on the matter Friday or Saturday.

“We’re looking at it. If we could do it, we’ll do it. But only if it’s a good deal,” Trump said.

Trump said he would like to save jobs at the airline and his administration gave Spirit “a final proposal.”

“We’re looking at Spirit and if we can help them, we will. But we have to come first,” he said.

He likened it to the deal his administration struck to make the U.S. government into a major stockholder of semiconductor manufacturer Intel, but said it was “a different kind of a thing.”

Last week, Trump floated the idea of a taxpayer-funded takeover of Spirit and suggested the U.S. government could later resell the airline for a profit once oil prices pushed up by the Iran war drop.

A lawyer for Spirit, meanwhile, told a U.S. Bankruptcy Court a week ago that the airline was in advanced talks with the government on a financing deal that would allow it to exit Chapter 11 protection.

Supporters of the airline’s rescue included labor groups representing Spirit’s pilots and flight attendants, who argued that allowing the low-cost carrier to collapse would hurt workers and push fares higher.

Critics, including both Republican and Democratic lawmakers, have raised concerns about the use of taxpayer dollars and questioned whether federal support would amount to a bailout of a company unlikely to recover.

Spirit has struggled with losses for years. The airline filed for bankruptcy protection in November 2024 and again in August 2025.

With the Iran war driving up jet fuel costs for all airlines, creditors last month expressed doubts about Spirit’s ability to keep operating, raising the possibility that the airline recognized for its bright yellow planes would be forced to sell its assets and stop flying.

Yamat reported from Las Vegas.

FILE - The tail of a Spirit Airlines Airbus A320 is shown as the plane prepares to take off from Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, Jan. 19, 2021, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)