Demonstrators dressed as clowns pass by a burning police car
These pictures show the confrontation between police and anti-austerity protesters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Three police cars were set alight and two officers injured as demonstrators trying to blockade the inauguration ceremony for the European Central Bank’s new headquarters.
Several thousand riot officers pursued what they said was a minority of violent activists as the bulk of protesters conducted themselves peacefully ahead of a rally in the city’s main square. Some blocked bridges across the Main River and streets.
The Blockupy alliance says activists plan to blockade the new headquarters and disrupt what they term capitalist business as usual.
A firefighter extinguishes the flames of a burning police car after clashes between demonstrators and police in Frankfurt (AP)
Police chase demonstrators after they threw stones
Barricades burn in front of the new ECB headquarters
Masked protestors protect themselves against a water cannon
Police forces chase protestors
A protestor empties a trash bin as smoke billows over burning barricades in front of the new headquarters
Masked demonstrators run past a burning police car
A police car burns after clashes between demonstrators and police
Firefighters extinguish flames in burning police cars
IN PICTURES: Police and protesters clash in Germany
