WARSAW, Poland — Former President Clinton was jeered by anti-globalization protesters and hit by an egg Thursday while visiting Poland’s capital as part of a European speaking tour.
The egg struck Clinton’s sleeve as he walked through Warsaw’s Old Town district. Police detained a 19-year-old man.
“The president laughed at the matter, saying, ‘It’s good for young people to be angry about something,”’ spokeswoman Jennifer Palmieri said. He was not injured.
The incident came one day after Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott was targeted by an egg-throwing heckler in Wales. The British politician’s response, however, was less mild. He punched the man in the face.
About 150 young Poles protested outside the hotel where Clinton was giving an address on globalization to business people. Some of the demonstrators held banners reading “Globalization kills our planet” and “Yes to people, no to profit.”
The former president generally is a popular figure among Poles and got warm receptions in 1994, when he addressed Poland’s parliament, and in 1997, when he spoke to 10,000 people in Warsaw’s Royal Square.
