Anti-NATO protesters have clashed with riot police around the French
city of Strasbourg, setting fire to a hotel, a service station and a
police post on the German-French border.
Police used tear gas
and shock grenades against the protesters as columns of smoke curled up
from the blazing facilities on the French side of a bridge linking the
country with Germany.
Some of the protesters were demanding an end to war, others sought abolition of NATO.
Authorities
canceled a planned visit to a Strasbourg anti-cancer research center by
the spouses of the NATO leaders because of the protests.
Friday's
demonstrations turned violent around midday as protesters began
throwing firebombs and other objects at officers seeking to block them
from approaching the site of the NATO summit in the city center.
The
latest clashes followed protests Thursday and Friday in Strasbourg and
the German town of Baden-Baden - the other summit location.
German and French authorities have deployed 25,000 police to maintain security around the two cities.
Some information for this report was provided by AP.
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