Thousands of "Blockupy" protesters gathered in Frankfurt on Friday, surrounding the European Central Bank to air their concerns about euro-crisis policies. Both the banks and police were reportedly well-prepared for the anti-capitalist demonstration. An estimated 2,500 supporters of the anti-capitalist group "Blockupy" demonstrated in the German financial capital of Frankfurt on Friday, blocking access to the European Central Bank (ECB) in protest of euro-crisis austerity policies. Banging on drums and carrying signs that read slogans such as "Block the ECB -- Fight Capitalism and Austerity" and "Humanity before Profit," the demonstrators cut off roads leading into the downtown financial district. "The business operations of the ECB have been successfully hindered," a spokeswoman said, according to the German news agency DPA. "We are making Europe-wide resistance to devastating policies of poverty visible." The European Blockupy movement, which formed after the Occupy Wall Street movement in 2011, is critical of euro-zone leaders' approach to the debt crisis. Forcing struggling countries to raise taxes and implement tough austerity measures has only served to deepen the Continent-wide recession, they allege. Banks Prepared for Protest As the protest got underway in the morning, riot police surrounded the ECB building and took positions at other nearby financial institutions, while a helicopter hovered overhead. A police spokesman said he wouldn't necessarily characterize the event as a blockade, however.
"So far, besides a few isolated incidents, everything has been peaceful," a police spokesman told the DPA. Further protests were planned for later in the day in downtown Frankfurt and at the airport, Germany's busiest international hub. The demonstrations are being held about one year after some 20,000
people took part in a similar event in the city, when police detained
hundreds of protesters. They also come ahead of Europe-wide protests
planned for June 1. More pictures of the protest here Source: Der Spiegel |
