Thousands of demonstrators marched in the German resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen on Saturday to protest against a meeting of leaders from the Group of Seven (G7) industrial nations that starts on Sunday at a nearby luxury hotel.
Carrying banners reading “Fight G7 for Revolution” and “G7 go to hell! I like Putin”, the protesters converged near the railway station in the picturesque sun-drenched town at the foot of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze.
2,000 protesters Police estimated the crowd at 2,000 while organisers put it at up to twice that number. Demonstrators jeered the police, who outnumbered them massively, but there was no violence.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel will welcome the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Italy, Japan, the United States and the European Union on Sunday at a meeting expected to focus on issues like climate change, the fight against pandemics, Middle East turmoil and an upsurge of violence in Ukraine.
They are also due to discuss the world economic recovery and officials said Greece’s unresolved debt standoff with its IMF and eurozone creditors, which is weighing on financial markets, would figure on the sidelines.
