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BBC NEWS
Riot police confront fishermen in Brussels

Police have clashed with hundreds of fishermen
protesting against the high cost of fuel outside
the headquarters of the European Union in
Brussels.

Several windows in EU buildings were broken and
at least one car was overturned during the
demonstration.

Riot police responded by firing water cannon and launching baton charges.

The fishermen have said they will go out of
business unless the EU allows national
governments to give them more financial aid and
subsidise their fuel.

French fishermen have been on strike for several
weeks over the price of diesel, which has risen
by 240% in the past five years.

In recent days they have been joined by members
of fleets from the UK, Spain, Portugal and Italy,
who have blockaded ports across Europe, and truck
drivers.

Restructuring

With foghorns, flags and flares, hundreds of
mainly French and Italian fishermen stopped
traffic on the main road in the European district
of the Belgian capital.


We came here... to tell Europe to stop getting in
the way of the French government trying to help us
Philippe Margoud

After several hours of stand-off, the protest
turned violent. A car was overturned, bins were
set on fire and windows were smashed by flares.

Riot police lined up behind a barbed-wire
barricade in front of the European Commission
responded by attempting to disperse the crowd
with water cannons and baton charges.

Earlier, a delegation of fishermen met senior EU
officials briefly outside the Commission's
headquarters to explain their grievances and
demand emergency aid from both the EU and their
countries' governments.

Philippe Margoud, a fisherman from the French
Mediterranean port of Agde, said the price of
marine diesel had gone up by a third in the past
four months.

that sounds strange, why namely fishermen are those who went protesting, why not taxi drivers etc.?

the protesters are mostly from Spain, Portugal, UK, because they have access to the sea and in result they depend on fish industry.

This is their business, that's why they have to fight for gaining respect and consequently for benefiting of facilities from the state's part.

I think Europe must invest in aquaculture and help the fishermen finding new jobs or economical alternatives (tourism or leisure fishing)..... :quoi

that's correct, but the fish industry is also perspective, that's why it must not be forgottern

as part of demonstration, fishermen handed out 20 tons of fresh fish to people, so they can back their initiatives

as far as I know these manifestations ended with nothing. I mean by the end the government did nothing to encourage them. I don't think it can. It's a dispute of international level, so one country can't act differently from other countries.

it's important that the government saw that people are concerned about this problem. This might prevent a little price raise for fuel in future.

or maybe the fishermen have to sail with wind vessels ...

yeah, that's a good idea - an ecological one!

People are angry, and I can understand them, but what EU can do, when the oil price is rising on a global scale?

oh, boys, but believe me, this is only the beginning. I think in the future we'll here of such strikes everyday, and not only from fishermen's part, but everybody will strike, still, i think, in vain.

People should put their thoughts together and solve the situation, not wasting time.