Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens on Wednesday as violence broke out after a large protest march against government austerity measures intended to fix the country's debt crisis. Riot police confronted scores of violent protesters who hurled rocks, red paint and plastic bottles near parliament, in sporadic clashes that caused little initial damage. Police detained at least two protesters. Earlier, more than 30-thousand people took part in a peaceful march, as unions staged held a general strike which grounded flights, shut schools and crippled public services in a show of strength against the government.
The 24-hour walkout comes as Greece is considering tougher austerity measures, including possible deeper salary cuts and extensive reforms of the civil service and pensions system, to pull the debt-ridden country out of financial crisis.
The country's two largest umbrella labour groups, the private sector GSEE and public sector ADEDY, fiercely oppose the wave of belt-tightening measures announced over the past weeks to reduce the bloated budget deficit from 12.7 percent of gross domestic product to 8.7 percent this year.
Greek unemployment hit a five-year high of 10.6 percent in November 2009, up from 9.8 percent in October.
The country's woes have affected confidence in the euro as a common currency, and hiked the country's borrowing costs.
The governing Socialists have frozen civil service wages and hiring while cutting bonuses, hiking consumer taxes and raising retirement ages.
Greece, however, is facing a March 16 deadline from the European Union to show signs of fiscal improvement and is under pressure to take additional measures.
These could include a hike in the Value Added Tax, currently at 19 percent, and further civil service bonus cuts. Wednesday's strike will be a crucial test of support for the unions, with polls showing strong public support for the government's austerity plan. A poll on Sunday in the Ethnos newspaper showed some 57.6 percent of Greeks believe measures taken so far are "in the right direction," while 75.8 percent think unions should show restraint until the end of the crisis.
Officials from the EU and International Monetary Fund are in Athens for an inspection of Greek public finances, ahead of the March 16 deadline.
Riot police clash with protestors in Greece
14:36 GMT 24.02.2010 (Updated: 19:51 GMT 19.10.2022)
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Police fired tear gas and clashed with demonstrators in central Athens on Wednesday as violence broke out after a large protest march against government austerity measures intended to fix the country's debt crisis. Riot police confronted scores of violent protesters who hurled rocks, red paint and plastic bottles near parliament, in sporadic clashes that caused little initial damage. Police detained at least two protesters.
