Germany: Anti-austerity protests

(Baonghean) - On Wednesday, March 18, thousands of protesters gathered in front of the new headquarters of the European Central Bank (ECB) to protest the austerity policy introduced by the bank.

Throwing bricks at the city hall, clashing with police, burning trash cans, cars, and fences… these were the scenes that people easily encountered in Frankfurt (Germany) on Wednesday morning. All of the above chaotic scenes were caused by protesters gathering to protest the ECB's austerity policy.

The protest was organized by an organization called Blockupy. Blockupy hopes to attract at least 10,000 people to protest in front of the new ECB building. The new ECB building is expected to open at 10am local time (4pm Vietnam time).

A car burns during a protest in Frankfurt on March 18. Photo: AP/Michael Probst

To ensure security for the opening, a security perimeter was erected several hundred metres around the new ECB building. Police also attempted to disperse the protesters. However, when protesters threw stones and red gas at the police, the police were forced to use pepper spray and water cannons to disperse the crowd. Several protective barriers were set on fire, creating thick clouds of smoke around the ECB building. Clashes between police and protesters also occurred in the city's central park. Due to the chaos, some shops were forced to close.

By mid-morning, Frankfurt police had arrested about 350 people for the riots. Eight police officers were injured and about 80 others were exposed to irritating gas. Police said protesters had set fire to four police cars and thrown rocks at seven others. On Tuesday night and Wednesday morning, seven passenger buses were also set on fire in Frankfurt. Protesters also threw rocks at the city hall, damaging several ground-floor windows.

As the protests continued to deteriorate, a Blockupy spokesperson said that this was not the outcome Blockupy wanted. The spokesperson did not deny that there had been clashes between protesters and police, but blamed it on a few extremists. Fortunately, the rest of the city and the old ECB building remained calm.

Chu Thanh

According to Liberation March 18