Thousands of teachers, pupils, students and their parents but also civil servants including health personnel, pensioners and workers joined their voices in protesting the high cost of living, demanding better education conditions, higher salaries and lower housing costs.
Τhe protests followed the 24-hour strike called by the primary and secondary teachers unions.
In Athens, Thessaloniki and over 40 other cities were held across the country.
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In Athens, pupils from the music school in Ilion, expressed their solidarity with protesters in Europe, held banners reading “From Greece to France, we fight for free education” and in solidarity with the protesters in France and Italy.
They performed the well-known Italian anti-fascist song “Bella Ciao” and “Another Brick in the Wall.”
Protesters chanted slogans such as “Schools should educate, not crush us,” and “Everything is prohibitively expensive—life costs a fortune; organizing and fighting is the only choice”.
Apart from the education protest block in downtown Athens, associations of pensioners marched to the Ministry of Health, temporary staff to the Ministry of Culture and hospital doctors to the Ministry of finance.
In Thessaloniki, cities on the island of Crete and other cities, it was mostly teachers, pupils, students and parents who participated in the peaceful demonstrations and marches.
Students’ primary demand was lower rents, an increased housing allowance, and free meals.
A key concern for university students is the implementation of substantive measures to address the high cost of living, which affects both their daily lives and their studies.
the start of the new education year has shown that university students and their parents need to pay at least €500 per month for a hole of even less than 40 sq.m. often in a horrible condition, if they need to study in another city than their family residence.
Their demands include lower rents, an increase in the housing allowance (along with an expansion of the eligibility criteria), and the expansion of student residences to provide more available places. Furthermore, they prioritize an increase in state funding for universities.
Fearing that the protests would develope into “French style riots”, authorities had deployed 3,000 policemen in Athens alone.
There have been report since yesterday that some shop owners in Athens have been on high alert, fearing looting similar to what has been seen in France. A notable example is a well-known luxury accessories and clothing store on Voukourestiou Street, whichinstalled protective coverings over its windows yesterday, leaving only the main entrance accessible.
In the same area, jewelry stores have cleared out their display cases and storefront windows.
Police on high alert
Protests in Greece come just days after violent incidents in France, Italy, Belgium, and Portugal, with police remaining on high alert.
The operational plan includes preventive checks as people approach the protest sites, aimed at preventing the carrying of dangerous objects.
In such “preventive checks” police in Athens detained at least 25 people.
Media report of an incident, where a small group of people wearing hoods tried to enter the protest block. They were quickly prohibited by demonstrators safeguarding the protest blocks.
For a second time in a week, students in Athens and Thessaloniki set up tents on Tuesday to protest the high cost of higher education and the unbearable burden of student housing costs.
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According to latest reports after the protest in Athens concluded, a group of “minors wearing hoods” (so Skai TV!) threw stones at riot police officers near Omonia square who responded with sound flares.
Tension in the area was quickly diffused.