Dock Workers Attack EU Parliament Building in Strasbourg, France, Over Proposed Changes at Ports
Protestors throw bottles at police as thousands of demonstrators hurled rocks, logs and metal fences at the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, France, Monday, Jan. 16 2006, smashing windows as they protested plans to liberalize port services across the European Union.

Labor action and strikes, meanwhile, slowed or halted cargo handling at several EU ports. In scenes of mayhem, police fought pitched battles with groups of protesters, charging at the demonstrators and using water cannons and tear gas to try to keep them away from the EU legislature.

Strikes and work slowdowns also disrupted cargo handling at several ports as trade unions pressed their opposition to the plan even as EU legislators predicted it would be rejected.

Police used water cannons and tear gas to try to keep thousands of protesting dockers away from the EU legislature in this eastern French city. But the mob surged forward, hurling rocks, logs and metal fences to shatter large sections of glass in the glass-and-steel building, located on the outskirts of this eastern French city. The damage was estimated at several hundred thousand euros (dollars), the parliament said.

Earlier, police fired pepper gas into crowds of demonstrators after port workers hurled flares, canisters, glasses and stones at the security services during a violent march through the city center. One policeman was hospitalized with a head wound, and 11 officers suffered light injuries, according to the parliament's press service.

Workers in yellow vests accompanied by marching bands set off smoke bombs and waved banners saying "Victory to the dockers." Some cars were set alight, and smoke mingled with the smell of pepper spray hung heavy in some parts of the town. The protesters moored a boat on the river outside the parliament.

At least 6,000 workers from all major European ports, including Rotterdam, Antwerp, Hamburg and Marseille, and from as far away as Australia and the United States, participated in the demonstration organized by several trade unions.

At the same time, workers closed down cargo handling in Antwerp, Belgium Europe's second biggest port and strikes affected harbor work in Portugal, Germany and Denmark. Dockers in Sweden and in Rotterdam, Europe's largest port, held short work stoppages.

The European Parliament looks set to reject new plans to liberalize cargo handling at EU seaports on Wednesday, two years after voting down the previous draft legislation on port services.