Police and demonstrators clash on streets of Madrid

Spanish austerity cuts protest

Anti-austerity protests in Spain last night ended in unrest after police fired rubber bullets to disperse demonstrators near Madrid’s parliament building.

Police charged at protestors as they set rubbish bins alight in the city centre. Six people were injured and seven were arrested, Spanish authorities claimed.

The demonstration had earlier started peacefully as tens of thousands gathered in the Spanish capital, as well as Barcelona and other cities across the country, to protest against the government’s planned 65bn euro package of tax increases and public sector wage cuts.

The measures were announced last week by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy in an attempt to aid debt-laden Spanish banks. Germany’s parliament yesterday ratified the 100bn euro bailout package earlier in the day.

Thursday’s unrest follow a series of anti-austerity demonstrations across Spain, as miners protested last week aginst proposed government subsidy-cuts.

 

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