FLORENCE, Italy - More than 450,000 anti-war protesters from across Europe marched through this Italian Renaissance city on Saturday, denouncing any U.S. plans to attack Iraq.
Fired with anti-American sentiment and angered by a tough new U.N. resolution to disarm Iraq, European activists joined forces in a carnival atmosphere and marched together singing Communist anthems and blowing shrill whistles. "Take your war and go to hell," one of the colorful banners read. "No to war," said another.
The rally marked the climax of the first European Social Forum, which brought together anti-globalisation campaigners from across the continent for four days of talks and concerts.
The forum was planned months ago, with tens of thousands of participants from dozens of countries stretching from Portugal to Russia. Delegates discussed topics from debt-reduction to support for the Palestinian uprising.
But organizers said the march was given added relevance by Friday's unanimous vote in the U.N. Security Council, which gave Iraq a last chance to disarm or face almost certain war.
Authorities estimated more than 450,000 protesters were on the streets, and people were still streaming in from a fleet of buses and trains hired for the occasion.
Organizers said the crowd could swell to more than a million people, making it one of the biggest rallies ever seen in Italy.
"The atmosphere here is wonderful. Absolutely perfect. It shows that a new young left is emerging," said Stavos Valsamis, a 27-year-old Greek activist from Athens.
French farmer Jose Bove arrived on a tractor. Protesters clambered up scaffolding around arches near the city center to get a better view of the massed throngs.
SECURITY HEADACHE
The march was bigger than a protest at a G8 summit in Genoa last year, when 300,000 demonstrators took to the streets and an orgy of violence left one protester dead and hundreds injured.
Some 7,000 police were on call but security forces kept a low profile, with most held in reserve some distance from the seven-km (4.5 mile) rally route.
The rest of Florence was a ghost town with most shops in the art-rich historical center pulling down the shutters for fear of violence. The city's famed museums were open and offered free entry to the few tourists around.
"We no longer have any illusions about institutions like the United Nations and their ability to help humanity," said Alain Krivine, a far-left French politician. He was convinced the United States had already made up its mind to attack Iraq.
"Marches alone won't stop wars, but this is quite literally a first step," he said.
While Friday's U.N. resolution gives the Security Council a central role in assessing the new arms' inspection program for Iraq, it does not require the United States to seek council authorization for war in the case of violations.
"It's totally clear that this is a war for oil, a war for imperialism," said Simon Hardy, 21, a member of the British Socialist group Revolution. "Iraq can't win, the U.S. wants war."