French, Italian and Spanish
fishermen on Wednesday took their demonstrations against high petrol
prices to the capital of the European Union, creating a massive
disruption of the city's morning rush hour.
Approximately
between 150 and 200 fishermen, waving flags and shouting noisily,
marched down Rue de la Loi in the morning towards the European
Commission around 09:00 hours local time. One of their banners called
for a diesel price of 40 cents per litre, half of the 80 cents they're
paying now.
Around lunchtime, the demonstrators lit flares and
threw fireworks at the police. They also burnt a European flag. They
were expected to move to the European Parliament in the afternoon.
Earlier
on Wednesday, they found themselves blocked in front of the European Commission's Berlaymont building by Belgian riot police, who set up
barbed wire to prevent them from reaching the European institutions.
Brussels authorities also blocked all traffic from the Schuman roundabout for most of the day.
Fishermen
across Europe, just as farmers and truckers, have been protesting high
fuel prices for several weeks now. Fishermen have been particularly
active in French, Italy, Spain and Portugal.
