GENEVA, Switzerland - Thousands of Geneva area students walked out of their classes at 10:30 this morning to join a protest. They gathered at the clock at Jardin Anglais, and quickly spilled onto Quai du General-Guisan. Wild cheers could be heard as groups of students arrived, school by school. They sang, chanted, and waved banners. The following are some texts of banners brought by students:

'Pas du sang pour le profit'
'Bush is another Ben Laden'
'Would you bomb Texas for oil?'
'Pas de guerre imperiale, pas de guerre coloniale, pour une justice globale?'

The atmosphere was very festive and celebratory as massive manifestations of disobediance are rare in a very strict country. One professor exclaimed, 'all my students left class to protest against war, so I go with them.'

PONT DU MONT-BLANC BRIDGE and RUE DE LAUSANNE

For about 15 minutes, the students sat on the pavement and blocked motor traffic in both directions across the Mont-Blanc bridge) The largest bridge between the two sides of the city) while motorists honked their horns both in support and anger. As more students arrived from area schools, they occupied more and more of the bridge, until the entire length of the bridge was occupied by anti-war demonstrators. At this point, about 10,000 students were snarling traffic in this already congested city.

There were no uniformed police present to protect residents, businesses, and motorists.

GARE CORNAVIN TRAIN STATION

Lead by a young man holding a megaphone, the masses of students slowly moved off the bridge and towards the main train station in the center of the city. Demonstrators have recently had problems passing through French customs at this station, and some may still be held there. Any detainees still remaining in custody most certainly heard the chants of 10,000 of their peers on the streets below. The demonstration then walked up Rue De Lausanne to the office of the World Trade Organization.

WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION

Thousands of students filled the park, the street, and the entrance of the gate in front of the World Trade Organization. Demonstraters took turns waving their banners at the gates so that the people inside the building could see the purpose of their manifestation. A student with a can of paint altered the signs outside the gates were changed to read: 'THE WORLD CRIME ORGANIZATION.' Hundreds sat in front of the gate, preventing anyone from entering or leaving. After several minutes, the crouds walked away from the lake, towards the United Nations.

UNITED NATIONS

Demonstrators filled the entire space between the U.N. gates and The Broken Chair, while chanting and singing. A group of students attached a huge sign to one of the bus stations near the Broken Chair.

AMERICAN CONSULATE

The Americans showed stunning cowardace and armed defiance to the peaceful public by transforming their consulate into a tight fortification. As the crouds neared the row of consulates, the entire neighborhood was closed by police in riot gear. At first, the demonstration was not allowed to pass, but eventually, the police opened the area, let the demonstration pass through, then barraceded the throngs of people in a short stretch of the narrow street. The demonstrators could see the gates of the American Consulate, but were held hostage by police. High fences and barbed wire had been set up around the building, and more and more police arrived in blue vans. Journalists watching the demonstration were questioned by police, their names recorded, and they were asked to leave the area.