Indignant youth

Protesters across Europe marched against social inequality on Saturday, accusing the banking and financial sectors of triggering an escalating debt crisis that has caused governments to slash popular social programs to reduce public deficits.

The wave of demonstrations hit many European capitals as central bankers and finance ministers from the world's 20 largest industrialized economies met in Paris over the weekend to discuss ways to prevent the eurozone debt crisis from throwing the global economy into a renewed recession.

The demonstrators in Europe have taken a cue from Spain's "indignant" movement, which began protesting against high youth unemployment and austerity measures in May. Europe's weekend protests come just as the Occupy Wall Street movement has gathered steam across the Atlantic in the United States.

Indignant Italy

Tens of thousands marched in Rome just a day after embattled Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi barely survived a vote of confidence in parliament. Italy has become a growing source of economic instability due its high debt levels, sparking concern that the eurozone's third largest economy may need a bailout like Greece, Ireland and Portugal.

Berlusconi's government has adopted a 60 billion-euro ($ 83 billion) austerity package to prevent such a scenario. The package raises taxes and has made public health care more expensive. The Italian media has said the number of protesters in Rome could reach between 100,000 and 200,000.

"Young people are right to be indignant," Italian Central Bank chief Mario Draghi said on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Paris. "They're angry against the world of finance. I understand them. We adults are angry about the crisis. Can you imagine people who are in their twenties or thirties?"

Protests carried signs reading "Your Money is our Money" and "Yes we camp," a reference to US President Barack Obama's 2008 campaign slogan "Yes we can."

Although the protests remained largely peaceful, a small group smashed shop and bank windows and set two cars on fire near the Roman Forum.

Global trend

In Germany, where public opinion has been skeptical of the eurozone bailout of Greece, around 1,000 demonstrators gathered outside of the European Central Bank (ECB) in Frankfurt while 5,000 marched on Chancellor Angela Merkel's offices in Berlin, and another 1,000 took to the streets in Munich.

Some 2,000 protesters marched in Brussels, the seat of the European Union, to keep up pressure on European leaders.

And in London, protesters took part in "Occupy London Stock Exchange," a collective that had more than 15,000 fans on Facebook and some 5,000 confirmed attendees.

Smaller protests also took place in Australia, Japan, New Zealand, the Philippines, Taiwan and South Africa.

Author: Spencer Kimball (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)
Editor: Nicole Goebel