In pictures: Florence protest

In a colourful and noisy display, hundreds of thousands of people from across Europe have been marching through the Italian city of Florence to protest against a possible war on Iraq.

So many people turned up that the march had to start early to avoid congestion problems

At the head of the protest, participants carried a banner which read 'No war'

Enemy number one for most of the demonstrators was US President George W Bush

But nonetheless a festive carnival atmosphere prevailed

Some marchers seemed to have trouble keeping their mind on the serious business at hand

Children of all ages were recruited to the cause