Dozens detained in Austrian ball protests

VIENNA (Reuters) - Austrian police detained dozens of protesters during violent demonstrations on Friday against an annual ball in Vienna's imperial Hofburg palace that traditionally draws right-wing figures. Around 5,000 demonstrators, many from abroad, took to the streets of Austria's capital to protest against the so-called Academics' Ball, part of the annual Viennese ball season, which was hosted by the far-right Freedom Party. The formal ball, which in past years has attracted such far-right luminaries as French National Front leader Marine le Pen, is now an annual flashpoint for clashes with leftist opponents of the event. Some held up signs saying "Nazis out". A police spokesman told broadcaster ORF that 38 people had been taken into custody and one police officer was injured. Police had banned six of the 20 planned demonstrations for fear of violence by radical left-wing protesters. The bans revived a debate about the extent to which a democratic state can block demonstrators from marching in support of a cause. Sensitive to criticism of previous crackdowns, Vienna police this year did not ban people from covering their faces in the city centre and imposed a smaller restricted zone around the Hofburg palace. It deployed 2,500 officers. Freedom Party leader Heinz-Christian Strache made headlines with a reported description of himself and other ball-goers as the "new Jews" after some visitors were intimidated by protesters at the 2012 Akademikerball, which was held that year on International Holocaust Remembrance day. Nazi Germany annexed Austria in 1938. Austria's 200,000-strong Jewish population was wiped out in the Holocaust. (Reporting by Michael Shields; Editing by Gareth Jones)