Protesters and police clash as G7 leaders prepare to discuss corruption and trade

Protesters have clashed with police in the German resort town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen as G7 leaders prepared for wide-ranging talks on subjects from Fifa corruption to controversial free trade agreements.

Police responded with pepper spray when a group of marchers tried to break through their cordon. Scuffles broke out as the demonstrators, some throwing bottles, faced off with riot police in a narrow lane of Alpine houses on the edge of the town. 

Occasional clashes followed as the demonstrators snaked their way back through the town. One paramedic said several protesters had been taken to hospital and he was aware of around 30 people with minor injuries.

A police spokeswoman could not give any official figures on casualties nor say whether there had been any arrests. 

The crowd was estimated by police at 3,500-4,000 while organisers put it at 7,500. Police vastly outnumbered the marchers in the picturesque former Winter Olympics venue at the foot of Germany’s highest mountain, the Zugspitze.