video transcript

ROUGH CUT (NO REPORTER NARRATION) STORY: Greek workers tried to storm a meeting of Greek and German officials in the northern city of Thessaloniki on Thursday and attempted to attack a German diplomat in a protest over austerity measures. Police used batons to disperse around 250 municipal employees after several ran into the courtyard and through the halls of a conference center in the city. Riot police assisted German Consul Wolfgang Hoelscher-Obermaier to enter the building, holding back protesters who cursed and tried to pelt him with water bottles. The demonstrators thronged outside the building holding up banners reading "Fight until the end!". Police said the protesters wanted to disrupt the meeting of officials, a Greek-German friendship meeting organized by the municipalities and attended by German envoy Hans-Joachim Fuchtel. A union official said the protesters were angry over comments made by Fuchtel, who told journalists on Wednesday that Greece could do more to reform its bloated local government sector. He said that experts believe 1,000 Germans can do the work of 3,000 Greek employees. On Thursday Fuchtel said his remarks had been misinterpreted.