Spanish film star joins austerity measures protest

SPAIN: Spanish film star Javier Bardem joined a mass street protest Thursday against economic crisis measures that he said are ruining Spain's cultural sector and the country generally.

The Hollywood star, bearded and wearing dark sunglasses and a simple blue t-shirt, joined hundreds of fellow artists in a demonstration outside the culture ministry, part of a wider workers' protest in the streets of Madrid.

Bardem, known for his Oscar-winning role as a hitman in the movie “No Country for Old Men”, echoed the public workers' complaint that a sales tax rise and other austerity measures will punish ordinary Spaniards unfairly.

AFP