FRANKFURT: Violent clashes between anti-capitalist activists and German police left dozens injured and a trail of destruction in Germany’s financial capital as the European Central Bank opened its new headquarters on Wednesday.

In fierce street battles that began in the early hours of Wednesday in the well-heeled western city, 14 German police and 21 anti-capitalist protesters were injured, police and rally organizers said.

Police also said they had made 16 arrests, mostly on charges of disturbing the peace and arson after seven police cars were set ablaze.

They added that 80 of their officers had been hurt by an irritant gas, but were back on duty, while Blockupy protest organizers said on Twitter that 107 demonstrators were hurt by tear gas and pepper spray.

At a press conference, Blockupy attempted to distance itself from the violence, which was timed to protest the ECB’s new over one-billion-euro towering headquarters.

“I would have hoped that the morning protests would be very different,” said the organization’s spokesman Ulrich Wilken. “This is not what we in Blockupy had planned.”

At the same time, Wilken said he “understood” people’s anger at the “policies of impoverishment” being forced by governments on to people in the crisis-hit countries.

However attacks on fire brigade vehicles have no place in demonstrations in Germany, Wilken insisted.

He said he hoped the planned rally in Frankfurt later in the afternoon would show the protests in a different, peaceful light.

Another Blockupy spokesman, Christoph Kleine, estimated that around 6,000 demonstrators were on the streets in the banking capital, including 1,000 international activists.

In the run-up to the day of protests, Blockupy had predicted as many as 10,000 marchers would take part.

Kleine argued that police should shoulder some of the blame for the violence, accusing them of using excessive force to provoke demonstrators.

In Berlin, leading politicians condemned the chaotic scenes.

Referring directly to the protests outside, Draghi said it was a “very difficult situation.”

And he offered “truly special and warmest thanks to the police and the security forces for their action and their efforts in maintaining the security.”

Authorities have mobilized one of the biggest ever police deployments in the city.

Frankfurt has seen its share of street violence. At a rally in March 2012, a policeman was seriously injured when protesters went on the rampage in the city center, causing around one million euros worth of damage.

At a subsequent demonstration in May 2012, there were around 20,000 marchers, but the rally remained mostly peaceful as more than 5,000 police sealed off large parts of the city.