In addition to the lunchtime protest at the Danny Meyer restaurants, Occupy protesters also joined recent picketing against Sotheby's outside the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
A lunchtime protest in San Francisco drew about 100 protesters, including Craigslist founder Craig Newmark and rapper M.C.
They were joined in the lunchtime protest by nonprofit advocacy groups and politicians including Stephen Levin of the City Council, who has sponsored legislation to reduce fines and the incidence of ticketing for vendors.
Under the bemused gaze of the embassy's armed police officers, some protesters sported burkinis – swimsuits that cover the wearer's whole body, including her hair – or swimsuits, while others threw beach balls at the lunchtime protest.
Police unions had called on officers, past and present, to attend a lunchtime protest in about 60 towns and cities following two months of often violent protests against controversial legislation introduced by the Socialist government.
There was a small strike a couple of weeks ago and several hundred staff staged a lunchtime protest outside the European commission on Wednesday complaining about the impact of proposed cuts on people "who provide the necessary human resources for achieving the union's tasks".
