Vienna police brace for far-right ball, protests

[pampango]

Hundreds of police drawn from all over Austria will be on duty for a Viennese ball on Friday evening attended by far-right figures including French National Front head Marine Le Pen, authorities said. The Wiener Korporationsring (WKR) ball, part of the Austrian capital's famous ball season, is organised by traditional, often right-wing, Austrian student fraternities and has always been controversial.

But this year's event, the 59th and expected to be attended by some 3,000 guests, coincides with the anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi Auschwitz death camp and International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Police expect around 3,000 anti-fascist demonstrators to protest outside the venue, the Habsburg dynasty's imperial Hofburg palace, with press reports saying coaches would be bringing people from all over Europe to take part.

"We are aware of intensive mobilisation efforts, including abroad," police spokesman Roman Hahslinger said, adding that "several hundred police from five states" would be on duty to prevent violence, with parts of the inner city cordoned off.

http://www.expatica.com/fr/news/french-news/vienna-police-brace-for-far-right-ball-protests_204208.html

[Lawlbringer]

1. I wonder if Ron Paul

is planning to attend. What with his love for Austrians and the far right. Hm. Far right, racist Austrian...I cannot for the life of me draw a comparison between Ron Paul and someone who fits that description.

Hmm.