Anti-capitalist protesters threw bottles at riot police on Saturday and officers responded with water cannon as a small demonstration on the final day of the World Economic Forum briefly turned violent. The clash came after a group of about 100 mainly young, local protesters marched through the chic Swiss ski resort of Davos and gathered near the railway station, some distance from the conference centre hosting the Forum.
It was the second episode of violence in Davos this week. Swiss anarchists claimed responsibility for a small explosion that broke windows and shook a hotel on Thursday where executives were meeting. Nobody was hurt in that incident.
Waving banners saying "Down with Capitalism" and "Stop Screwing Us on Salaries", Saturday's demonstrators marched along an approved snow-covered route taking them past the outer perimeter of the WEF's elite meeting. Organised by local socialists and Greens, the marchers complained that Davos, favoured by top bankers, businessmen and politicians, had little to show for its 41 years of meetings.