In Bucharest, the clean-up has begun in earnest following violent protests against government spending cuts.

Marches have been held for four straight days, but the past two have been marred by clashes with police.

Residents want tough punishment for those who vandalised local businesses.

“My opinion is that everything started good and finished bad. Those hooligan gangs have come and done what we can see in the whole of Bucharest,” said one woman.

“Why didn’t they arrest those guys with scarves around their mouths? Why weren’t they arrested?” asked a man angrily.

Romania’s prime minister, Emil Boc, appealed for calm. In a statement to journalists, he said that dialogue would be the only way to resolve problems and conflict. He warned violence would not be tolerated and that it could destablise the country.

More than two thousand officers patrolled the Romanian capital on Sunday night as demonstrations turned violent.

Protesters are angry about a twenty-five percent cut to public wages and tax hikes agreed under a two-year aid deal with the EU and IMF to slash the country’s budget deficit.