Italian anti-globalisation protesters clash with police

Media reports said some of the protesters - many of them Green and neo-Communist party activists - had attempted to reach the French consulate in the border town to demand that their 14-car protest train called the Global Action Express be allowed to reach the European Union summit in Nice.

Once in the centre of Ventimiglia they were stopped by police, who reportedly used rubber truncheons and fired teargas to disperse the crowd.

Some 1,400 protesters, including several politicians, have been stuck in the border town of Ventimiglia since Wednesday afternoon. French authorities have closed the border to prevent more protesters planning to disrupt the Nice summit from entering France. Some 1,000 police officers have been dispatched to the area.

Railway traffic between the two countries was seriously disrupted and protesters claimed France had violated the Schengen Treaty on freedom of movement within the E.U.

Paolo Cento, a member of the Green Party, said he had called the Foreign Ministry to "formally inform the government that they cannot stop two members of parliament as well as over 1,000 private citizens from exercising their right to cross the border."

Police said they feared protesters may be carrying arms or other weapons, but a demonstrator said police were confusing "a healthy protest with terrorism".

Most of the protesters have since decided to return home.

(dpa)