About 1,000 march to protest U.S. military

MARSEILLE, France -- With chants of "no blood for oil," about 1,000 people marched through this southern French port city on Thursday, protesting the passage of a U.S. Navy battle group and the prospect of an American-led war against Iraq.

Dozens of police kept order during the rally, which was peaceful even though demonstrators briefly shouted at a small group of U.S. sailors.

The battle group, led by aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman, has nearly a dozen ships with 8,000 sailors and Marines, is expected to end a five-day stop in Marseille today. The flotilla is making a scheduled move to the Mediterranean and Persian Gulf.

Police and rally organizers estimated that about 1,000 marchers took part.

Bernard Genet, a spokesman for anti-war group Understand and Act, one of the rally's organizers, criticized France's policy of serving as a stop-off point for the U.S. flotilla.

The French government has vowed to honor its international obligations if Iraq is found to be flouting U.N. resolutions forcing it to disarm. But France has repeatedly said everything must be done to avoid war.