The Austrian capital of Vienna saw thousands of people take to the streets, protesting against the staging of an annual ball that is hosted by an extreme right party in the city.
![Protests Against Annual Ball Hosted by Extreme Right Party in Vienna Protests Against Annual Ball Hosted by Extreme Right Party in Vienna](https://images.medindia.net/health-images/1200_1000/depression1.jpg)
The demonstrators were opposed to the Freedom Party (FPOe) holding its ball in the city's imperial winter palace, the Hofburg, to which far-right figures from across Europe were invited.
Around 20,000 police manned a security perimeter around the building to prevent intruders disrupting the event.
Natascha Strobl, a spokeswoman for the Offensive Against the Right collective, told AFP the demonstration "is about halting the biggest gathering of Europe's extreme right elite".
The opposition FPOe is the third-biggest party in Austria, winning 21 percent of the vote in September elections -- rivalling the support shown to each of the two traditional parties, on the centre-left and centre-right, that govern as a coalition.
Source-AFP