French police have dislodged the eye of a Belgian 24-year-old metallurgist using a rubber bullet. The man had participated in protest rally yesterday in front of the European Parliament building in Strasbourg, the head of the Belgian Metal Workers Union said, RIA Novosti reported.
About 1500 employees of French, Belgian and Luxembourg departments of the world's largest steel group ArcelorMittal gathered in the capital of Alsace on Wednesday. They arrived in Strasbourg to express dissatisfaction with EU authorities in connection with ArcelorMittal's decision to close part of the production facilities in Europe. As a result of this decision, the threat of dismissal looms over 1300 workers in Belgium.
According to the union leader the protesters were behaving peacefully, but the police used batons, tear gas and rubber bullets to disperse the metallurgists.
"We were regarded as terrorists in Strasbourg," head of Belgian Metal Workers Union complained to journalists.