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Evian march halted - 1 km to go!

yossarian | 01.06.2003 04:38

"Can you hear me talking through gas mask?" he sez. "We've made it to the junction, the cops have done a massive gas job. There are a couple of hundred of us in a field, and a few thousand others being pushed back along the road."

The police have made no move to advance on the demonstrators, they are apparently trying to hold a fixed line and let the clouds of tear gas do their work for them. The demonstrators have retreated in order to have a discussion out of the gas. They believe that their original estimate of a 12km march was incorrect, and that they are only about 1km away from the crucial junction that they want to block. As the group moved to have a decision-making assembly, protestors erected barricades on the road to deter the police.

yossarian

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update 7:03 geneva time

01.06.2003 05:17

The standoff continues. 500-700 people are confronting the police line and getting heavily gassed but are no longer retreating. 300m back of this group, the rest (a few thousand people) are having a spokescouncil. People from the village are out looking around, shaking their heads at all the gas.

yossarian

Report from St-Cergues 9:35 geneva time

01.06.2003 07:42

Loads of gas is being fired at the demonstrators at St-Cergues but they are holding on. Stun grenades and water cannon are also being used, with the police advancing water cannon, firing tear gas and stun grenades, and retreating again. There is a burning barricade blocking the main road between Annemasse and St-Cergues. The villagers, angered by the gassing, are reportedly treating the demonstrators amazingly well, handing out lemons so that people can use their acidity to counteract the gas, letting demonstrators use their toilets, making coffee, and supplying water.

The demonstrators are about 100m from police lines, and are using hockey sticks to smash back the gas canisters as well as picking them up using gloves to throw them back.

yossarian