Europe's week in pictures

The news and the pictures from Europe over the last seven days - a week which witnessed a variety of protests, and the colours of Christian rituals in the run-up to Easter.

German police and protesters also clashed near Philippsburg, as a shipment of nuclear waste left for France

Protests against Turkey's economic crisis led to violent clashes between police and demonstrators...

... police used water cannon in an attempt to clear the streets

The Netherlands became the first country in the world to legalise euthanasia, despite protests from some Christian groups

As the number of foot-and-mouth cases in the Netherlands rose to 25, farmers in Kootwijkerbroek hung carcasses from trees

It was a week of Christian ritual in the run-up to Easter, beginning with Palm Sunday - celebrated here in St Peter's Square

Penitents processing through the streets in many cities, including the Brotherhood of Saint Benito...

... and the brotherhood of Cerro del Agula, who processed through Seville on Holy Tuesday...

... while on Holy Thursday it was the turn of Noelia Bartolome, 5, and Alejandro Gonzalez, 3

It was a week of heavy duties for the Pope, seen here during mass at the St Peter basilica on Holy Thursday

Children walk home through the flooded streets of Abbeville, in northern France