For Greeks who have made France their home, the unrest sweeping the country has transformed familiar streets into scenes some say they have never witnessed before.
From Paris to Marseille, Greek residents, students and professionals describe fear over venturing outside, extensive damage and intense confrontations between protesters and police. Some have joined the demonstrations themselves, while others have documented them from the front lines.
“The image in Paris over the past few days has been disheartening,” said Polyvios Anemoyannis, a photojournalist who has lived in the French capital since 1989.
After decades photographing demonstrations in France, Anemoyannis told MEGA television that the scale of the violence stood out.
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“Yesterday was the first time I left for work with a knot in my stomach,” he said. “The tension between police and protesters, and the violence I see on the streets from both sides, is something I have never seen to this extent.”
Yet amid the clashes, one image stayed with him: young demonstrators gathered around the Statue of Liberty in Paris.
“They were chanting slogans, dancing and celebrating this sense of freedom they felt for a few hours,” he said.
‘You Don’t Know What Might Happen’
For Ioannis Kaskambas, a graduate student in France, the unrest has brought uncertainty to everyday life.
“There is a general fear about whether you want to go outside, even just for a walk, because you don’t know what kind of incidents might unfold,” he told MEGA.
He described extensive damage in several areas, including stores, roads and bus stops, as well as numerous fires.
In Marseille, Greek resident Natassa Ramantza offered an equally stark description of the situation, saying the southern French city had, figuratively, “burned” and that fires were still being set.
Ramantza, who lives permanently in Marseille and works in the private sector, was among a group of Greeks who joined a large demonstration at the city’s port.
“Everyone has come together and is supporting the young people and the children because, essentially, they sounded the first alarm that set this entire mobilization in motion,” she said.
Ramantza described the demonstrations as particularly intense and said the police response had been directed primarily at younger protesters rather than other groups.
Cost of Living Adds to Anxiety
The Greeks who spoke to MEGA also pointed to the financial pressures affecting daily life in France, from housing and groceries to fuel.
Kaskambas cited high rents and the broader cost of living, saying even going out once a week had become something people increasingly had to think carefully about.
“Most people complain that they can’t make it through the month,” he said.
Ramantza said the pressure cuts across social groups and is evident in the cost of basic necessities, “from the supermarket to the price of gasoline.”
For Konstantinos Agouridas, a retired university professor in Paris, uncertainty over employment is also weighing on students.
“The students’ concern is what France’s labor market will look like tomorrow and whether it will be able to absorb them,” he said.
Anemoyannis described a similar sense of uncertainty among younger people.
“There is a feeling among the youth that there is no future for them, that the state is dismissing them,” he said.