Thousands of people took part in a series of anti-capitalist demonstrations in Frankfurt on Friday, targeting primarily the European Central Bank and banking giant Deutsche Bank, organisers and police said. On the first of two days of protests planned by the anti-capitalist movement Blockupy, as many as 1,500 people gathered in front of the ECB in the pouring rain to protest the central bank's handling of the euro crisis and Europe's austerity policies.

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Thousands of demonstrators from the anti-capitalist Blockupy movement will seek to cut off access to the ECB and other financial institutions in Frankfurt on Friday, to protest at their handling of Europe's debt crisis. The demonstrations in Germany's financial capital come ahead of Europe-wide gatherings planned for June 1 and roughly a year after police detained hundreds of people for defying a temporary ban on protests at a similar four-day event in Frankfurt.

With banking union brewing and London mulling an EU exit, is Frankfurt ready to take on the mantle as Europe's unchallenged financial capital? Although the epicentre of the euro, Europe's single currency, there is a long list of things Frankfurt is not. With just 700,000 inhabitants, this compact German city -- often referred to as the world's smallest metropolis -- can't compete in size to other financial centres, such as London, Tokyo or New York.

Europe's leading stock markets closed with solid gains and a fresh record in Frankfurt on Friday, with London at its highest level in more than five years. The FTSE 100 index of leading shares posted a gain of 0.49 percent to 6,624.98 points, a reading last seen in late 2007. In Frankfurt the DAX 30 index of leading German shares closed with a new record, though it gained only a modest 0.19 percent to 8,278.59 points, while in Paris the CAC 40 was 0.64 percent higher at 3,953.83 points in thin trading as much of the rest of the country enjoyed an extended holiday break.