Revolt on the streets of Europe

RESISTANCE is ramping up against the corrupt capitalist system all over Europe.

On October 6 and 7 riots broke out in Istanbul as angry protesters took to the streets to oppose the IMF meeting in the Turkish city.

And on Saturday October 10 it all kicked off in Poitiers, central France, at a protest against the transfer of prisons to a new prison built in the area (see photo).

Said a report on German Indymedia: "The demonstration was not the main action of the day and local officials had anticipated that only 80 people would participate in actions. But the authorities were surprised by the arrival of a group of 250 protesters determined to do battle. They not take the control of the demo they were the demo.

"The parade first took the direction of the prison before turning around and attacking police who tried to follow. The procession set off towards the city center, forming a sort of block two banners with reinforced front and rear.

"The militants attacked all banks, insurance agencies and a business run by Bouygues (builder of prisons). A trader who tried to intervene was slightly injured. A policeman was more seriously hurt after being hit by a hammer to the head. "

The report carried in the USA's Washington Post sounded like a return to Cold War rhetoric, with its talk of "ultra-leftists" out to destroy our (capitalist) way of life...

It wrote: "The wanton destruction, which lasted for about 90 minutes early Saturday evening, was a dramatic reminder that France and other European nations, below their surface of stability and wealth, harbor tiny bands of ultra-leftist activists who still want to combat the market economies and parliamentary democracies on which the continent's well-being is founded.

"The violence seemed to have been carefully planned, police said. They discovered caches of masks, hammers, batons and smoke bombs at several points in the city center, apparently hidden in advance for use during the riot. Once it broke out, police said, the protesters used canvas tarps to protect themselves from rubber anti-riot projectiles used by police. "

Tarps, eh? Useful tip.

Although this was a major media event in France, with the usual indignant questions being asked by the right-wing press about who on earth these upstarts were and how they could ever have impinged on their complacent reality, it seems to have been totally ignored by the UK media - even though it is not exactly very far away!

Perhaps that is the problem - France is close enough to us that a wave of insurrection could easily cross the Channel and kick off here as well.

Remember 1789? Well, not literally of course, but you may well have read about the way the French Revolution inspired a generation of English radicals and scared the shit out of the authorities.

Is another storm of revolt on the way to these shores?