Rioters clash with police at EU summit

Rioters pelted police with fire bombs and rock-filled sacks today in street battles that erupted during major demonstrations staged for the final day of a summit of European leaders.

Riot police in Thessaloniki, northern Greece, used tear gas against hundreds of self-proclaimed anarchists who poured from university campuses, where police are prohibited from entering under Greek law.

Banks were among the sites attacked by the mobs, which also set some businesses and cars ablaze.

A McDonald’s restaurant was looted and burned.

Streets were littered with bricks and wooden clubs carried by the attackers, who are linked to groups that often use peaceful marches as cover to provoke riots.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, but several ambulances were on the scene. Some protesters were arrested, but most fled back to the university grounds.

The clashes were not connected to the mostly peaceful protests that converged on the US consulate, which was protected by heavy metal grates.

More than 50,000 demonstrators denounced the United States and its European allies. One banner read: “Down the imperialist world order.”

The rallies, coinciding with the closing of the three-day European Union summit at a heavily guarded beach resort, pressed a wide range of demands, including an end to support from some EU countries for US President George W Bush and the American-led occupation of Iraq.

Also on the protesters’ agenda: reducing developing world debt and imposing controls on the global reach of multinational companies.

Demonstrators from across Europe and nearby countries have joined Greeks staying at government-built campsites in Thessaloniki and attended discussion groups and rallies.

Greek authorities hoped the amenities would ease protest anger, but many shopkeepers in Thessaloniki closed and covered their windows with metal sheets and wood panels.

The latest street clashes were the most serious in the protests staged during the EU summit.