Police, NATO Protesters Clash In France

(CBS/AP)  Black-clad protesters attacked police and set a hotel and a customs station ablaze Saturday near a bridge linking France and Germany that served hours earlier as the backdrop for a show of unity by NATO leaders.

AP photographers saw other protesters storm a nearby Ibis hotel, setting fires and pilfering alcohol from its bar. An AP reporter saw intermittent scuffles between police and demonstrators in black as they gradually made their way back from the Europe Bridge and tried to enter the city center.

Around 2:45 p.m., the protesters - throwing rocks - tried to storm a massive police blockade at the Pont d'Anvers bridge, and were driven back by water cannon, tear gas, flash bombs and rubber bullets. Across the canal, nearly 1,000 people gathered to watch the fracas.

Some of the protesters were hurt, but none of the injuries appeared to be serious.

Elsewhere, stacks of old tires were also set ablaze, unleashing thick plumes of black smoke that could be seen from across the river. Near the bonfire was a sign welcoming visitors to Strasbourg.

First lady Michelle Obama and other spouses canceled a visit to a cancer hospital out of concern for security, the French president's office said. Some 1,000 protesters were staked out near the hospital they were to visit.

Some of the protesters say they want an end to war and call NATO a tool of Western imperialism. Others simply appear bent on causing chaos.

Saturday's protest began calmly but began turning violent around noon at the same Pont d'Anvers bridge. An AP reporter saw police in body armor and helmets hoisting shields as they were pelted by several hundred protesters with rocks, sticks and then Molotov cocktails.

About 100 officers responded by lobbing flash bombs and volleys of tear gas into the crowds of demonstrators, many dressed in black and wearing masks or balaclavas.

Members of the violence-prone "black bloc" - named for their black clothes and hoods - then headed toward the Europe Bridge and set fire to the customs station on the French side and sprayed graffiti on the walls of buildings.

Later, German-run water cannon were driven across the Europe Bridge and used to help put out the fire. As the crowd dissipated, a convenience store was overrun and ransacked.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and two dozen other NATO leaders walked across the bridge separating Germany and France before the 60th-anniversary summit began.

Across the Rhine River in Kehl, Germany, an estimated 5,000 demonstrators gathered peacefully and hoped to cross into Strasbourg but were diverted by scores of police, backed by at least five trucks with water cannons.

"No nations, no border. Fight law and order," they chanted in unison as police clad in riot gear looked on, before the demonstration began to gradually subside around 3 p.m.

Protesters have been frustrated by large police presence in both cities. Some 15,000 German police and 9,000 French police are on call for the summit. Helicopters have patrolled the skies and police in fast boats have crisscrossed the river, too.

Earlier Saturday, some 1,800 protesters left their camp south of Strasbourg at about 4 a.m. and headed north through deserted streets to the summit site before being turned back.

(AP Photo/Winfried Rothermel)

(Protesters march through Kehl, southern Germany on Saturday, April 4, 2009.)

Elsewhere, a separate group of 200 French and German protesters - including dozens dressed as clowns and a team of dancing percussionists - occupied a central intersection in downtown Strasbourg after police launched flash bombs and tear gas at them.

German authorities had estimated that up to 25,000 protesters would take part in several demonstrations in Kehl and the German spa town of Baden-Baden, about 35 miles away, where NATO leaders met and had supper in a lavish casino.

France's interior minister has suggested 30,000 to 40,000 ultimately could show up in Strasbourg. The numbers have so far appeared much smaller.

[curse914]

If the French actually worked - and worked normal business hours, they wouldn't have so much time protesting.

Posted by liselle3 at 2:03 PM : Apr 4, 2009

You think that being a corporate slave is a good thing? With companies constantly downsizing and outsourcing, the remaining workers are made to do the work of two, three, or more people, are pressured to work longer and longer hours, are being asked to take time off only when the company tells them to, are constantly stressed out not only from the overwork but from the threat of being the next to do, are being told that they won't get any pay increase this year and no bonus, that their company will no longer match their 401K contribution, and that their heath care premium will go up once again. And all they can look forward to is 2 weeks of vacation a year (when the company says they can take) and endless hours spent at "happy hour" to drink it all away.

How did you like that Kool-Aid?

Posted by incog-nito at 10:41 PM : Apr 4, 2009

Over 30 years productivity has increased 3 fold and wages have increased 7 percent. Someone is being had. Looks like our Tool is spreading a myth.

[wardoglrs]

Why are American voters so flipping stupid. Here we go again down the road of god knows where with another dumb ass prez. Obama never had anything to offer except for the banks its always the banks. You however get the bill.

[WiseAsOwl]

Let's not get all ga-ga and carried away with Obama... Yes, he is president.. But, please acknowledge that he is the biggest liar that has EVER been in the White House... He has lied to us all numerous times.. and you Libs don't even mind.. Deny that he is a liar if you want to. He is a Socialist.. that's not even in question.. He is a Muslim..y'all have done back flips denying that. I, and others, still have doubts about where he was born... He would surrender U.S. sovereignty given half a chance...I don't think anybody would question whether he would do that, or not. The question is how to stop him.. His patriotism was in question during his campaign.. It's even MORE in question, now.. He has spend the U.S. into what might be oblivion.. He's committing economic suicide in a stupid gamble to get our country out of a recession... Bush was a piker and an amateur at spending, compared with Obi... And some of you have the audacity to mock us who are not so ga-ga about Obama.. You call us losers... Okay... but you're going to lose just as much as I or anybody else is going to lose... Whatever happens is going to happen to ALL of us...... I'm toying with this idea that most of the adamant Obama supporters are less than 25 years old... The reason I suspect this is the mindless devotion to what Obama is and what he wants to do that FLIES IN THE FACE of hundreds of years of history and the world's experiences in government and in societies... I don't think "history" or "democracy" means diddley to the younger generation..

[ndjam]

People worldwide are sick and tired of being stepped upon and humiliated by their governments. This is the beginning of what is to come. This world will burn if things dont change soon.

[jenkins501]

What do all of you people base your opinions on?? The newspaper, the news that TV gives. I with a college education cannot express an opinion. Because we truly "Know Nothing" That is the sadness of the whole mess. I look and these posts and I feel sorry for the people that post them. This county MUST look at eduction as the highest thing on there agenda.

[kamsack50]

Hey, TheMasses, lay off. I know a lot of nice Kenyans.

[liselle3]

If the French actually worked - and worked normal business hours, they wouldn't have so much time protesting.

[kamsack50]

This is getting eerie, the way protesters have to do everything except protest Obama himself! It's like some kind of double-think! I wonder when, if ever, we'll see a demo placard with Obama's name on it.

[hetup-2009]

These protests were prepared well by intelligent people effective at organizing and promoting their cause. Too bad we have such stupid people in this country. We should feel ashamed, USA, how pitiful.

[txlakeside]

you right wing idiots have probably never even traveled to modern day France, know nothing of their current society or problems and are just dumb as dirt! Europe loves Obama and after the "SHRUB" who can fault them.! You are just dumb as dirt and are still PO'ed that a Black man is president! Go listen to Rush and your other dumb as dirt leaders. Leave the real world politics to the "Educated" ones!