FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) – At least four police cars were set alight and two officers injured Wednesday as authorities confronted anti-austerity protesters trying to blockade the inauguration ceremony for the European Central Bank’s new headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany.
Police said 350 people were detained. Protesters are targeting the central bank because of the its role in supervising efforts to restrain spending and reduce debt in financially troubled countries such as Greece.
German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said that “everyone has the right to criticize institutions like the ECB. But pure rioting goes beyond all limits in the battle for political opinion.”
Several thousand riot officers pursued what they said was a minority of violence-minded activists using the protest as cover. The bulk of protesters conducted themselves peacefully, marching in groups, drumming and singing ahead of a rally in the city’s main square. Some blocked bridges across the Main River or streets.
Police said one officer was injured by stones thrown near the city’s Alte Oper opera house, several private vehicles were burned overnight, and several police cars were set on fire at a police station in the city center. Another police vehicle smoldered a block from the ECB.