NICE, France — French riot police fired tear gas Thursday to disperse hundreds of protesters who threw stones and bottles and rushed barricades around a conference center where European leaders were arriving for a summit.
The clashes created scenes of chaos in this Riviera resort city. Tear gas wafted across the entrance to the building, causing French President Jacques Chirac to sneeze and Prime Minister Lionel Jospin to step away from photographers so he could blow his nose.
Nearby streets were littered with broken glass and stones and a bank building was briefly set on fire. At least 20 police officers were lightly injured as the rioters tried to pierce police defenses in a street that leads up to the hall's main entrance. Two protesters were detained.
A ragtag group of several hundred Spanish anarchists, radical trade unionists, and Basque and Corsican separatists fought pitched battles with the police as they sought to break through the ring of steel encircling the Acropolis convention center.
The demonstrators made their way to within about 300 feet of the center's main entrance, where the leaders of the 15 European Union nations arrived one by one along with the heads of 13 Eastern European countries due to join the bloc in the years ahead. But police then pushed the rioters back.
During the three-day summit, the EU nations were likely to restate their commitment that other European nations, from Turkey to the Baltics, are welcome to join and must work hard to get in shape for membership.
But enlarging the European Union isn't that simple.
The EU consistently brushes aside demands by the 13 candidate countries for firm entry dates. It has pledged to be ready for some newcomers by 2003, although the most promising candidates — among them Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic — are unlikely to join before 2004.
And any talk of entry dates could be academic unless the EU implements reforms that have escaped agreement in years of debate. The summit is widely seen as the last chance to overhaul the EU's outdated decision-making rules and mechanisms.
Pre-summit talks were marked by a tussle among the EU countries, all trying to retain what power they have under the existing system. But the leaders will face a raft of other issues, from a burgeoning mad cow crisis to a charter of fundamental rights for Europeans.
Some 4,000 protesters had gathered as dawn broke over the city, hoping to march to the convention center. But police and barricades blocked the way.
Their demands ranged from more social justice in Europe to increased rights for refugees. They chanted "Europe is not for sale" and "No, No, No to a federal Europe. Yes, Yes, Yes to a social Europe."
Many also criticized the Charter for Fundamental Rights, which EU leaders are due to adopt here.
"I am absolutely against the charter. It is a charter for the powerful and against the workers," said Katerina Mollura, a 66-year-old Italian from Turin.
Later, the city center was turned into a battlefield as a smaller number of flag-waving protesters rained stones and bottles on police, who responded with tear gas and stun grenades.
A crowd attacked the car of a motorist who had knocked over several protesters. Using sticks and pipes, they smashed the windows and forced the driver to flee in reverse. Undeterred, he floored it again, scattering the demonstrators like dominoes.
Two blocks from the convention center, a bank was set on fire, and protesters, some masked, attacked the fire engine that came to extinguish the flames. But the blaze was quickly put out.
Protesters then turned on a real estate agency, smashing windows as terrified staff fled to an inner courtyard.
"I feel discouraged and disgusted," said agency owner Luc Mercier as he surveyed the broken glass and a smashed computer left on the sidewalk.
"They attacked the windows with sledgehammers," he said. "I am happy that no one was injured."
The streets were littered with stones, pieces of wood, broken signs and used tear gas canisters. Banks and businesses were covered in graffiti — with slogans ranging from "Long live ETA," referring to the violent Basque separatist group, to "Death to Money."
Some of the early bird marchers were angry about the later descent into violence.
"We are peaceful protesters. We don't want any violence," said Javier Pla, a 20-year-old student from Valencia in Spain, who was cleverly equipped with a gas mask. "These people are terrorists."