Bayonne, France - A group of hooded Basque militants burnt down a Basque-language radio station in the south-western town of Bayonne early on Saturday and looted some of its material, witnesses said.
The attack came in the wake of clashes overnight on Friday between police and about 300 young Basque militants, mostly Spanish, angry at being prevented from marching on the nearby resort of Biarritz, where an informal European Union summit was in progress.
The fire caused no casualties, but damage was estimated at tens of thousands of francs.
Neighbours who saw the attack said that other Basque militants had attempted to prevent the group from setting fire to the building which housed two Spanish public-service broadcasters, one broadcasting in Spanish, the other in Basque.
A spokesperson for Euskal Herritarrok (EH), the political wing of the Basque separatist organisation ETA, condemned the attack.
Further incidents erupted in Bayonne later Saturday after 2 000 Basque militants turned out for a demonstration called by EH and the main French Basque separatist group, Abertzaleen Batasuna.
A group of between 50 and 100 militants, some masked, threw Molotov cocktails towards police who responded by firing tear gas canisters.
Meanwhile, border authorities said they had strengthened entry controls near Hendaye, on the border with Spain, "as a result of the serious violence by certain Spanish citizens" taking part in demonstrations at Bayonne and Anglet, a small town near Bayonne, on Friday.
By midday on Saturday, 132 people had been refused entry into France, including 91 travelling on two buses, officials said.
The disturbances on Friday night came as the Basque militants, many of them masked, started throwing stones and Molotov cocktails at police posted to prevent them marching on Biarritz.
Breaking into little groups, they raised barricades in Biarritz's old town, breaking windows, smashing telephone booths and setting fire to an office.
The police dispersed the demonstrators with tear gas. - Sapa-AFP