German police clash with protesters before G-20 summit
HAMBURG — German police clashed with violent protesters Thursday in Hamburg a day ahead of the Group of 20 summit, using water cannons, pepper spray and batons to disperse marchers after some attacked them with bottles and other objects.
The skirmishes came hours before the two-day gathering of the world’s top economic powers gets under way Friday morning in Germany’s second-biggest city.
Its host, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, said she hoped the leaders would be able to find “compromises and answers” on a wide range of issues — although the prospects of finding common ground on climate change and trade were uncertain.
Thursday evening’s protest as the G-20 leaders arrived in Hamburg was titled “G-20: Welcome to Hell,” and a standoff between hardcore anti-capitalist protesters and police developed before the march itself really got going.