Tens of thousands march in G20 protests

Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of London ahead of next week's G20 summit to express their anger at the human cost of the financial crisis.

Demonstrators also marched in other European capitals as politicians appealed for calm during Thursday's Group of 20 gathering in London, due to be attended by world leaders including US President Barack Obama.

Police estimated the London crowd at up to 35,000 but there were no reports of any violence as the placard-waving crowd snaked along the four-mile route to Hyde Park.

An alliance of more than 150 organisations including unions, charities, and environment groups joined the march to demand action to save jobs, create a low-carbon economy and impose stricter controls on the finance sector.

US Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, called for protestors to give governments a chance to tackle the economic crisis at a conference of centre-left politicians in Chile.

"I would hope that the protesters give us a chance, listen to what we have to say and hopefully we can make it clear to them that we're going to walk away from this G20 meeting with some concrete proposals," he said.

Also in Chile, Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who will host the G20 summit in east London, said: "The action that is happening in London today I understand, and we will respond to it at the G20."

Organisers of the Put People First march for "jobs, justice and climate" in London had rejected as "smears" claims in police briefings that marches could be hijacked by anarchists bent on violence.

Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said the demonstration had a clear message for the presidents and prime ministers heading to London.

"Never before has such a wide coalition come together with such a clear message for world leaders," he said.

"The old ideas of unregulated free markets do not work, and have brought the world's economy to near-collapse, failed to fight poverty and have done far too little to move to a low-carbon economy."

Oe protester, Chris Pounds, 45, a health worker from Northampton in central England, told AFP that the groups in the march were united in their belief that global leaders had "made a real mess" of the economy.

"We have got to start again to find a new way of living because over the last year we've seen that our so-called leaders don't know what they are doing," he said.

"I don't care what happens at the G20 summit -- we don't need their help."

The protesters waved banners with slogans such as "We won't pay for the crisis," "Plan it with the planet in mind" and "Capitalism always leads to death."

One anti-capitalism group marched behind the head of a devil plastered with dollar bills.

More protests are planned in London in the days leading up to the summit, which will mark President Obama's first visit to Europe since taking office.

Several hundred demonstrators turned out in Paris, where they erected and demolished a model of an island symbolising a tax haven. Hundreds also attended an anti-globalisation protest in Madrid.





Lions enjoy the sun in their enclosure at a zoo, March 29, 2009. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji