Anti-NATO activists have installed themselves not far from the centre of Strasbourg in the suburban town of Neuhoff. The anti-NATO village is home to anarchists and alter-globalists who describe it as "a place of meeting, of life, an expression of our rejection of NATO - the military machine that only protects capitalist interests". It's in this village that members of the Black Blocs - the group that clashed with police on the German border last night - are supposedly staying. But it's hard to know what exactly is going on as the "villagers" are less than willing to let the press in.
AFP - French police said Friday they made 300 arrests in clashes with demonstrators in Strasbourg ahead of a two-day NATO summit attended by 28 leaders including US President Barack Obama. Police said 105 people were still in custody on Friday morning after the clashes the previous day, which saw riot police fire tear gas to stop as many as 2,000 demonstrators marching on the heart of the summit city. Masked protestors clad in black used wooden stakes to smash around a dozen bus shelters and set fire to rubbish bins, setting up a barricade before police disbanded the marchers and pushed them back towards their camp. Around 25,000 police were on standby in the eastern French city to contain further protests during Friday and Saturday, which are expected to draw tens of thousands of people opposed to NATO's military operations.
