Denmark: Shares launch rescues squatters

A hippy enclave at the heart of the Copenhagen cannabis trade will mark its 40th anniversary by selling shares to raise funds to get the government off its back.

Proceeds from Christiania's "people's shares" will go into a fund to finance a 76m crown (£9m) property deal with the government – which will give residents of the self-proclaimed freetown the right to stay on property where they have been squatting since 1971.

The shares will not give holders any stake in Christiania or voting rights, so buying them amounts to a donation.