About 3,500 protesters gather as G-7 leaders set to arrive in Germany’s Munich

Their demands include a phase-out of fossil fuels, preservation of animal and plant diversity, social justice on the planet and a stepped-up fight against hunger.

About 3,500 protesters gathered in Munich on June 25 as the Group of Seven leading economic powers prepared to hold their annual gathering in the Bavarian Alps in Germany, which holds the G-7′s rotating presidency this year.

Police said earlier they were expecting some 20,000 protesters in the Bavarian city, but initially fewer people showed up for the main protest which started at noon, the German news agency DPA reported.

Fifteen groups critical of globalisation, from Attac to the environmental organisation World Wildlife Fund (WWF), will participate in the demonstrations. Their various demands include a phase-out of fossil fuels, the preservation of animal and plant diversity, social justice on the planet and a stepped-up fight against hunger.

“My demands for the G-7 are, that they have a clear commitment to energy transition, that is the exit from fossil fuels, all forms of fossil fuels, by 2035 at the latest, so we can stop financing wars and conflicts," said Kilian Wolter from the environmental group Greenpeace who participated in the protest on Munich's Theresienwiese lawn in the city centre.

Earlier, on June 25, members of the antipoverty organisation Oxfam posed at a different Munich protest wearing oversized heads of the G-7 leaders demanding more global equality.

“We need concrete action to cope with multiple crises of our times,” Oxfam spokesman Tobias Hauschild told The Associated Press. “That means the G-7 have to act immediately. They have to fight hunger, inequality and poverty.” Germany's top security official called on protesters to refrain from violence.

"I expect all demonstrators to protest peacefully, not to hurt anyone and not to destroy any cars or stores,” Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told news portal t-online. A total of around 18,000 police officers are deployed around the summit site and the protests.