Put people first march begins

The Put People First march has begun.  It's very difficult to tell how big the entire demonstration is right now, because the entire embankment for at least a mile is filled with people - the demonstration stretches out of sight in either direction.

The march begins

The glorious IWW banner

Yoof march

Some variety

The main thing that is noteworthy about the demonstration is the incredibly wide variety of things that people are demonstrating about.  Jobs and the economy seems to top the list, followed closely by worries about the environment (especially global warming).  There appears to be a wide range of opinions represented here - from liberal NGOs over into the trade unions, socialist, and anarchist groups.

The Militant Workers Bloc, a section of the march composed of class-struggle anarchists demonstrating in favour of a self-organized economy, are completely surrounded by hundreds of police at the moment, although the general atmosphere even on this part of the march is relaxed.