Police disperse G20 protest with water cannon ahead of summit in Germany

German police used water cannon to disperse around 500 anti-capitalist protesters overnight in the port city of Hamburg where Chancellor Angela Merkel will host leaders of the G20 leading economies in a two-day summit starting on Friday.

Tens of thousands of protesters are expected to march in the city this week against globalization and what they say is corporate greed and a failure to tackle climate change.

German authorities have deployed some 20,000 police officers, citing concerns about violence at protests.

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Hundreds of mainly young left-wing activists gathered and marched on a main street shortly before midnight on Tuesday in the first major protest ahead of the summit, which will be attended by Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, U.S. President Donald Trump, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan.

Riot police use water cannons against protesters in Germany

7 years ago

Duration 0:46

Demonstrations in Hamburg take place leading up to G20 summit

On Wednesday, demonstrators painted like clay figures moved slowly and silently through the streets of Hamburg to protest against the summit as part of a group called 1,000 Figures.

Organizers said the display represents the helplessness of the individual in the world today.