Bush unpopular in Paris
2004-06-05 20:10
Paris - Waving banners and yelling slogans, several thousand people marched through Paris on Saturday to protest the US-led occupation of Iraq and US President George W Bush's visit to France.
At the head of the march, protesters carried a gigantic banner calling for freedom and sovereignty for Iraqis, the withdrawal of occupying troops, and peace and democracy in the Middle East.
It smells like oil
In eastern Paris, thousands of anti-war protesters marched against the US-led occupation of Iraq, carrying placards reading "Bush, terrorist number one" and "Bush, since you got here, it smells like oil".
Five thousand police officers and 1 500 soldiers have been deployed in Paris, and the area around the Elysee presidential palace and the US embassy has been sealed off.
One of the marchers, former presidential candidate and radical communist leader Olivier Besancenot, said "It's just not decent that George Bush, responsible for a murderous war, is in Paris today."
About 40 organisations, among them human rights and peace groups, the communist and Greens parties and the American expatriate group Americans Against the War called for the protest under the motto "solidarity with people, against war and occupation".
- AFP