Thousands march in G20 protests

Demonstrators also marched in other European capitals as politicians appealed for calm during Thursday's Group of 20 gathering in London, due to be attended by world leaders including U.S. President Barack Obama.

Police estimated the London crowd at up to 35,000, as the placard-waving crowd snaked along the six-kilometer (four-mile) route to Hyde Park.

An alliance of more than 150 organizations including unions, charities, and environment groups joined the march to demand action to save jobs, create a low-carbon economy and impose stricter controls on the finance sector.

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, meanwhile, called for protesters to give governments a chance to tackle the economic crisis at a conference of center-left politicians in Chile.

"I would hope that the protesters give us a chance, listen to what we have to say and hopefully we can make it clear to them that we're going to walk away from this G20 meeting with some concrete proposals," he said.

Organizers of the Put People First march for "jobs, justice and climate" in London had rejected as "smears" claims in police briefings that marches could be hijacked by anarchists bent on violence.
 
Message to leaders
 
Brendan Barber, general secretary of the Trades Union Congress, said the demonstration had a clear message for the presidents and prime ministers heading to London.

"Never before has such a wide coalition come together with such a clear message for world leaders," he said.

"The old ideas of unregulated free markets do not work, and have brought the world's economy to near-collapse, failed to fight poverty and have done far too little to move to a low-carbon economy."

The protesters waved banners with slogans such as "We won't pay for the crisis," "Plan it with the planet in mind" and "Capitalism always leads to death."
One anti-capitalism group marched behind the head of a devil plastered with dollar bills.

More protests are planned in London in the days leading up to the summit, which will mark President Obama's first visit to Europe since taking office.

In Rome, protesters threw red paint, egg and smoke bombs at banks, insurance companies and estate agencies in their protest. Students and left-wing activists were among those who took part in the march, which organizers said had drawn around 6,000 people.

Thousands of people also marched through Berlin and Frankfurt on Saturday in protests ahead of the G20 summit. In Vienna, at least 6,500 people, according to the police, marched to protest of globalization. Several hundred demonstrators turned out in Paris, where they erected and demolished a model of an island symbolizing a tax haven. Hundreds attended a similar protest in Madrid.