海角大神

Police and protesters clashed in聽Spain听补苍诲听Italy聽on Wednesday as millions of workers went on聽strike聽across聽Europe聽to protest against spending cuts they say have made the economic crisis worse.

Hundreds of flights were cancelled, car factories and ports were at a standstill and trains barely ran in聽Spain听补苍诲听Portugal聽where unions held their first coordinated general聽strike.

滨苍听Spain, 81 people were arrested after scuffles at picket lines and damage to storefronts.聽Riot police in Madrid聽fired rubber bullets at protesters.

The eurozone crisis explained in 5 simple graphs

In central聽Rome, students stoned police in a protest over money-saving plans for the school system. A few dozen protesters, hurling bottles and large firecrackers, clashed with riot police, who fired tear gas and dragged away at least one bleeding protester into a police van, a Reuters witness said.

International rail services were disrupted by strikes in聽Belgium聽and workers in聽Greece,聽Italy, and France聽demonstrated as part of a "European Day of Action and Solidarity."

It was the biggest聽Europe-wide challenge by organized labor to聽austerity聽policies that have aggravated recessions and mass unemployment in nearly three years since the start of the euro zone's debt crisis. But it seemed unlikely to force hard-pressed governments to change their cost-cutting strategies.

滨苍听Portugal听补苍诲听Greece聽- both rescued with European funds and under strict聽austerity聽programs - the economic downturn sharpened in the third quarter, data showed in Wednesday.

Portuguese unemployment jumped to a record 15.8 percent while next door, in聽Spain, one in four of the workforce is jobless.聽Greece's economic output shrank by 7.2 percent on an annual basis in the third quarter as the debt-laden country staggers towards its sixth year of depression.

Close to 26 million people are unemployed in the European Union while governments take aim at spending on treasured universal health care and public schools.

"Everybody has to do something to call attention to what's happening," said聽Esteban Quesada a hardware store owner in聽Barcelona聽who closed his shop to join the protests in聽Spain's second city.

"Things have to change... Money has ended up with all the power and people none. How could this happen?"

Spain,聽Portugal听补苍诲听Greece聽have all slashed spending on pensions, public sector wages, hospitals and schools. But frustration has mounted as the cuts aggravate the economic downturn. 滨苍听Spain, most of the savings have been gobbled up to meet higher interest payments on the national debt, swollen by the cost of rescuing banks after a real estate bubble burst.

The tax rises and spending cuts are aimed at putting public finances back on a healthy track after years of overspending. 滨苍听Spain, a decade-long building boom collapsed, leaving airports, highways and high-rise buildings disused around the country.

Germany's central bank, the聽Bundesbank, said in a report on Wednesday that the euro zone debt crisis is still the number one risk to German banks and insurers, and the situation had not improved from last year.

Pledges from the聽European Central Bank聽to support sovereign bond prices for countries that seek aid have brought some relief to聽Spain听补苍诲听Italy聽in the capital markets.

On Wednesday聽Italy聽sold 3-year bonds at the lowest borrowing cost in two years.

Spain to stay the course

While several southern European countries have seen bursts of violence, a coordinated and effective regional protest to the聽austerity聽has yet to gain enough traction to significantly shift policy.

Spanish Economy Minister聽Luis de Guindos聽told reporters on Wednesday the government would stay the course with spending cuts to meet ambitious deficit cutting targets, despite the聽strike.

"We're on聽strike聽to stop these suicidal policies," said聽Candido Mendez, head of聽Spain's second-biggest labour federation, the聽General Workers' Union, or UGT.

Mendez said turnout for the聽strike聽- the second one this year - was massive, with turnout in the public sector well above 50 percent. The government minimised the impact, saying many services were functioning normally.

Passions were inflamed when a Spanish woman jumped to her death last week as bailiffs tried to evict her from her home. Spaniards are furious at banks being rescued with public cash while ordinary people suffer.

滨苍听Portugal, which took an EU bailout last year, the streets have been quieter than in聽Greece聽orSpain聽but public and political opposition to聽austerity聽is mounting, threatening to derail measures sought by Prime Minister聽Pedro Passos Coelho.

His centre-right government was forced by protests to abandon a planned increase in employee payroll charges, but replaced it by higher taxes.

Passos Coelho's policies were held up this week as a model by German Chancellor聽Angela Merkel, who is despised in much of聽southern Europe聽for insisting on聽austerity聽as a condition of her support for EU aid.

"I'm on聽strike聽because those who work are basically being blackmailed into sacrificing more and more in the name of debt reduction, which is a big lie," said聽Daniel Santos de Jesus who teaches architecture at the聽Lisbon Technical University.

Some 5 million people, or 22 percent of the workforce, are union members in聽Spain. 滨苍听Portugalabout a quarter of the 5.5 million strong workforce is unionised.

Major demonstrations were planned for the evening in聽Madrid, Lisbon,聽Barcelona聽and other cities.

Arrests, flights canceled

Protesters jammed cash machines with glue and coins and plastered anti-government stickers on shop windows around聽Spain. Power consumption dropped 16 percent with factories idled.

More than 600 flights were cancelled in聽Spain聽alone, mainly by Iberia and budget carrier Vueling.Portugal's flag carrier TAP cancelled roughly 45 percent of flights. Trains, subways and busses in both countries were severely curtailed, but many retail shops were open as normal.

Italy's biggest union, CGIL, called for a work stoppage of several hours across the country. The transport ministry expected trains and ferries to stop for four hours. Students and teachers were set to march.

滨苍听Greece, which saw a big two-day聽strike聽last week as parliament voted to approve new cuts, hundreds of strikers rallied peacfully in central聽Athens, holding aloft giant Italian, Portuguese and Spanish flags and banners proclaiming "Enough is enough."

滨苍听France, five trade unions organised marches in more than 100 cities but did not call for a聽strike.

Left-wing critics of Socialist President Francois Hollande said he has failed to address the concerns of French workers who have the same fears as their counterparts in聽southern Europe.

"It's an unconditional surrender," hard left leader Jean-Luc Melenchon said on聽France聽2 television.

Every week brings news of fresh job cuts.聽Spain's flagship airline Iberia, owned by UK-basedInternational Airlines Group聽, said last week it will cut 4,500 jobs. The prestigious El Pais newspaper just laid off almost a quarter of its staff.

"We have to leave something better for our children," said聽Rocio Blanco a railway worker on the picket line at聽Madrid's main rail station, Atocha.