Hendaye (France) (AFP)

An eclectic crowd of several thousand opponents of the G7 near Biarritz, in southwestern France, peacefully paraded Saturday from Hendaye to the Spanish border town of Irun.

In a good-natured atmosphere, the demonstrators - 15,000 assure the organizers, 9,000 to 13h (11h GMT) in Hendaye according to the police - have traveled in a quiet four kilometers, under a blue sky, denying the fears of the authorities who feared overflows for this only authorized event.

The organizers, meanwhile, ensured not to fear violence. "We have a fairly substantial mediation service with 200 experienced, mainly Basque, activists," said Aurélie Trouvé, spokesman for ALternative G7, a counter-summit co-organizer, calling on "state forces to the responsibility".

While the government mobilized more than 13,000 members of the security forces to ensure the security of the G7, the police presence was very discreet along the procession, except for a helicopter flying over Hendaye.

Many red, green and white Basque flags floated above the march, which mixed anti-capitalist, ecologists, alterglobalists, Basque sympathizers and a few dozen "yellow vests".

"It is important to show that the population is mobilized and that it does not agree with the world we are being offered," declared a protester, Elise Dilet, 47, a member of the Basque anti-globalization association Bizi . "The march, we want it completely peaceful and even if we fear some excesses, we tried to put everything in place so that it does not happen."

Xavier Godmet, 43, a cheese farmer from Normandy, spent family holidays in the region when he heard about the counter-summit, three days of debates that preceded this event; "We've changed our program to be there, I've come to defend local agriculture, and what I want to do is feed people close to home," said the 43-year-old farmer.

- "Stop this masquerade" -

Despite the presence of one of the figures of the movement, Genevieve Legay, the "yellow vests" were a minority in the procession, like Michel, who is there "for a better world". "You're tired of being run by people who think only of their mouths, we are against the dictatorship of Macron and the big ones of this world, who want to share power and crush the people", says this 56-year-old employee from a neighboring village.

In neighbors, the Spanish Basques are numerous in the procession. Max, 28, came from Bilbao with five friends. "We have a culture of struggle and for us it's completely logical to walk today, we came in numbers to stop this masquerade" of the G7, he says, with a Basque flag in his hand.

While the Amazon rainforest burns, the big seven are challenged on the warming: "if the climate was a cathedral, it would have already saved," said a sign, referring to Notre-Dame de Paris, to which millions have flocked for his repair.

To denounce the migration crisis, protesters in survival blankets carry plastic boats.

Friday night clashes between police and demonstrators in Urrugne, near the camp where reside some of the anti-summit. The police had been fired from projectiles and used tear gas and defense ball launchers (LBD).

A total of 17 people were arrested, four policemen slightly injured and seven protesters supported by the approved services of civil protection, according to the prefecture.

According to the entourage of the organization of the counter-summit, 23 people were treated by "street medics", for conditions ranging from "the scratch to the projectile of LBD in the legs".

© 2019 AFP