Anti-Capitalist Demonstration at Bank, London 10 Oct

Peter Marshall | 10.10.2008 21:57 | Globalisation | Social Struggles | London

A group of several hundred people, mainly students took part in a lively anti-capitalist demonstration about the financial crisis in the centre of the City of London this afternoon. Photographs (C)2008, Peter Marshall, all rights reserved.

Going into the the Royal Exchange

Into the Bank of England

On Cornhill

Capitalism isn't working

A French guest with the CIty police

Excessive force in a choke grip

Marchers push through the police line

Sit-down

Rally at the end of the protest

The demonstrators attempted to storm a prestige shopping centre (The Royal Exchange) and the Bank of England but were quickly repulsed by police. They then went on a tour of nearby streets. There was a short sit-down as the protesters reached Bishopsgate, but most of the time they simply pushed through the rather thin police lines.

Apart from a few instances of individual tempers being lost (and some of the press covering the event had a few tricky moments - I got a few bruises by being pushed by police and my glasses were damaged) the atmosphere generally remained relatively calm, often resembling more a rather rough body-contact game such as a rugby scrum than anything more confrontational.

Eventually a short rally with speeches was held on the corner of London Wall and Bishopsgate, after which the demonstrators slowly dispersed. I didn't see any arrests and the police seemed fairly relaxed at the end of the event.

Contrary to reports elsewhere on Indymedia and some blogs, the demonstrators - perhaps surprisingly - were at no time anywhere near the Stock Exchange, around half a mile away in Paternoster Square.

More pictures on My London Diary

http://mylondondiary.co.uk in a day or two.

Peter Marshall
e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk

Additions

Wrong Last Picture

10.10.2008 22:43

Rally at the end of the event

I uploaded the wrong file for the last picture, which was from earlier in the event - here's the correct one.

Peter Marshall
mail e-mail: petermarshall@cix.co.uk
Homepage: http://mylondondiary.co.uk

Comments

Hide the following 5 comments

I thought you leftists wanted to nationalise the banks?

11.10.2008 09:40

I thought it was the policy of the far left to nationalise all the banks if they came to power. Now that the government is doing that you are still no happy. So when the share prices of those banks go up the country as a whole will benefit from the huge profits produced.

confused

because you're a liar

11.10.2008 09:42

Your assumptions are wrong, the people there were a mixture of students and workers, and everybody pays tax anyway - ever heard of VAT?

workerbee

bailout to underwrite losses of fictious capital = extortion

12.10.2008 02:52

confused - you are as yr name suggests. The Govt haven't nationalised anything.

This bailout is to bailout the financial capitalists - it's a drop n the ocean in terms of the outstanding debt - it won't stop global meltdown. It's extortion.

"If the (American) people ever allow PRIVATE banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks will deprive The People of all property until their children wake-up HOMELESS on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to The People, to whom it properly belongs".
--- Thomas Jefferson

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation RIP

Please don't show people's faces

12.10.2008 17:25

We really shouldn't show people's faces on reports - especially those were people are seen in direct confrontation with the police.

In case you haven't heard about this, recently the London Paper published four pictures of people sought by the police in relation to the anti-bush demo last June. People in Scotland got their doors kicked in just for having attended a Smash EDO demo. Someone got four years in jail simply for advertising protests on a website.

By publishing pictures of people in direct confrontation with the police, you are putting them at risk of reprisals.

Indymedia moderators : could you edit those photos and blur out the faces ?

sna

conflict with police...

06.04.2009 05:33

if you are in direct conflict with police and your face is not covered physically, you will be rounded up. we live in an age where any boob carries some kind of camera with em at all times. and the cops will always have a video crew with them at protests. editing faces out of activist photographs is only disillusionment.