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Anti-G8 protestbecomes violent,nerve center raided

A largely peaceful demonstration against the G8 summit in Evian deteriorated into pitched battles between riot police and protesters intent on an orgy of destruction and looting that continued into early Sunday, leading to a raid on the nerve center of activist planning.

For more than nine hours, police used rubber bullets, tear gas and water cannons against several thousand militants who rampaged through the Swiss city of Geneva, turning its elegant streets into a sea of glass and leaving the air heavy with acrid fumes. Swiss police raided a youth cultural center which acted as a base for the protesters, while German police -- brought in to bolster the Swiss -- made repeated baton charges.

The protesters looted gas stations, pharmacies and other shops, leaving downtown Geneva in chaos and its self-described status as a "city of peace" in tatters. Only a handful of stores were left intact -- mainly those which had anti-G8 or anti-war banners in their windows. Even the bulletproof windows of big banks were smashed.

Tension flared when the demonstrators tried to return to Geneva, and were confronted by rows of riot police intent on preventing a repeat of a Saturday rampage.
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