Hundreds of people rallied in Geneva and Davos today to protest against the World Economic Forum, saying the elite gathered for it annual meeting are not qualified to fix the world's problems.
Hundreds of people rallied in Geneva and Davos on Saturday to protest against the World Economic Forum (WEF), saying the elite gathered for it annual meeting are not qualified to fix the world's problems.
Carrying banners reading "You are the Crisis" and throwing snowballs, several hundred protesters marched to fences surrounding the heavily guarded Hotel Seehof in the Davos ski resort, where many world leaders and business people stay during the forum.
In Geneva, where the WEF has its headquarters, police in riot gear fired tear gas and water cannon to disperse a crowd that had gathered in a square near the train station, sending people running in all directions. Witnesses said there did not appear to be any violence by the protesters.
The rally in the city's normally staid streets was not formally permitted by local authorities.
A Geneva police spokesman said about 60 people were detained temporarily for checks but there have been no arrests. About 30 have been released and the rest are due to be released soon, he said.
Florence Proton of ATTAC Suisse, one of the Geneva organisers, said it was important for outside voices to be heard in debates about how to resolve the crisis.
"The people meeting in Davos are the ones responsible for this economic crises that is becoming, and is now, global," she told Reuters, speaking in French.
Reuters