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35 arrests in Vienna as far-right ball demos held

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AFP Vienna
Police in Vienna have arrested 35 people as thousands protested against a ball organised by far-right groups and politicians in the Austrian capital.

Several thousand people flooded into central Vienna yesterday to denounce the "Akademikerball" ("Academics' Ball") at the former imperial winter palace, the Hofburg.

Most of the protesters marched calmly amid heavy police presence.

The ball -- part of Vienna's traditional ball season which is currently in full swing -- is organised by the far-right, eurosceptic and anti-immigration Freedom Party (FPOe), the third-largest in parliament. In previous years other European far-right figures have attended including France's Marine Le Pen.
 

This year a number of Viennese taxi drivers clubbed together using Facebook to boycott the ball and refuse to take participants to the event at the Austrian capital's former imperial palace, the Hofburg.

Last year's event led to scuffles between police and militants which left 20 people injured.

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First Published: Jan 31 2015 | 6:55 AM IST

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