French police round up Egypt protesters
French police on Saturday evening rounded up protesters who were demonstrating in Paris against Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and put them on buses. Witnesses were told they were not allowed to film.
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“A group of about 100 people were being penned in by a large number of police in full riot gear,” said witness Peter Cross. “Every time they tried to raise a chant, the police would squeeze people so they couldn’t.”
There were five or six police vans at Place des Ternes. The protesters were taken one by one to a police bus.
“There were men in tears,” said Cross.
Some 60 people were arrested at Place des Ternes and another 60 on the Champs-Elysées at the end of the demonstration for identity checks, according to police.
"The demonstrations there had not been officially declared," said a spokesman from the Prefecture de Police in Paris. "The police had to intervene to re-establish the circulation of the traffic."
He added that they have all been released, apart from three who have remained in custody for acts of vandalism during the protests.
"Everyone has the right to their own image," added the spokesman. "If someone was trying to film close to a policeman, he has the right to ask him not to."
Some 700 people, according to police figures, protested outside the Egyptian embassy on Saturday.
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