11/03/2003 (Agence Europe) - the behaviour of the French police during a dockers' demonstration on Monday in Strasbourg provided some MEPs with the opportunity in the plenary to indirectly re-launch the Strasbourg-Brussels row. Francis Wurtz, President of the GUE/NGL group complained at the unjustified repression used against the dockers, whose protest was legitimate because the directive proposed to lower wages, break their status, their profession and job. British Conservative, Roger Helmer, criticised the fact that during the demonstrations, the police prevented access for MEPs to the European Parliament building. Dutch Liberal, Elly Plooij-van Goresel repeated this idea, complaining about the "paranoia" of the French security forces and added that it had happened on countless occasions that they were unable to carry out their work in a pleasant city like Strasbourg. He also said that they had cancelled flights and denied them their vehicles (the affair of the Strasbourg taxis: editor's note. Française Grossetête (EPP, France) criticised this, "I am rather surprised that our colleagues complain about not having security in Brussels and of being attacked and finding them selves subject to excessive security in Strasbourg. We have to be logical"! Reference to recent declarations from CSU MEP Ingo Friedrich, who talked about the insufficient security at the EP building in Brussels.