(Bloomberg News) British police sealed off routes to the London Stock Exchange and Italian officers conducted nationwide raids following protests against economic inequality on four continents.
Officers carrying batons and gas sprays manned steel barriers close to St Paul's Cathedral in London, blocking supporters of the Occupy London Stock Exchange group from approaching the LSE. At least 25 police vans with wire-mesh screens and carrying additional officers were parked in side streets.
"We'll stay for however long it takes to build a new democratic financial system," said Kai Wargalla, a 26-year-old German studying sustainable economics in London, who's one of those camping next to Christopher Wren's 17th century church. "It's about creating something new."
The Occupy Wall Street demonstrations began last month, with about 6,000 people gathering in Times Square for what organizers called a "global day of action against Wall Street greed" on Oct. 15. The protests then spread to Europe and Asia, with more than 100 people injured in Rome after as many as 200,000 people gathered on the same day, the Corriere della Sera newspaper reported.
Italian police today launched raids in cities including Rome and Milan, according to the Ansa news agency, while gas masks and balaclavas were seized in Florence.
A board placed on Paternoster Square, home to the LSE, said the area is private land and that "any licence to the public to enter or cross this land is revoked forthwith."
'Working Groups'
The St Paul's demonstrators had divided into "working groups" to formulate their demands and organize a kitchen, said protest spokeswoman Wargalla, who estimated as many as 250 people were taking part. About 4,000 people had signaled their intent to attend, a spokeswoman said on Oct. 12.
The campers had been given indefinite permission to remain by cathedral authorities, who also asked police to leave the area, Wargalla said, and this "sets the stage for long-term occupation." An e-mailed statement from the Cathedral today did not explicitly support the protest and said that the building must remain open to the public. Clerics would not be giving interviews, a spokeswoman said.
"I want to see stricter regulation of the finance system," said Joe Spence, 23, an anthropology student at Kent University. "I want a government that will not just pander to the banks." A notice at the campsite, about 100 yards from the LSE, read "Jail the Bankers."