Germany: 30,000 protest peacefully against free trade, climate ahead of G-7 summit

Masks with the faces of French President Francois Hollande, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, US President Barack Obama, British Prime Minister David Cameron and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, from left, sit on the floor during a protest against the upcoming G-7 summit at Schloss Elmau hotel in Munich, southern Germany, Thursday, June 4, 2015. The summit will take place June 7/8 on Schloss Elmau hotel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (The Associated Press)

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A woman protests against the upcoming G-7 summit in Munich, southern Germany, Thursday, June 4, 2015. The summit will take place June 7/8 on Schloss Elmau hotel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (The Associated Press)

Demonstrators demand to stop the TTIP negotiations during a protest against the upcoming G-7 in Munich, southern Germany, Thursday, June 4, 2015. The summit will take place June 7/8 on Schloss Elmau hotel near Garmisch-Partenkirchen. (AP Photo/Matthias Schrader) (The Associated Press)

MUNICH – Tens of thousands have protested against free trade and climate change ahead of the upcoming G-7 summit in Germany.

The leaders of the seven major industrialized nations meet Sunday and Monday at Schloss Elmau, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) south of Munich, to discuss pressing global issues, from curbing global warming to resolving the Ukraine crisis.

Police in Munich said some 30,000 people took part in a rally organized by environmental groups and left-wing parties in the Bavarian capital Thursday. There were no reported incidents.

Authorities are braced for possible violence at a demonstration Saturday in the town of Garmisch-Partenkirchen, close to the summit venue.