- 48-hour strike sees airports and ports grind to a halt
- Crucial vote on Greek austerity measures will take place tomorrow
- Police fire tear gas after clashes with protesters in Athens
By David Williams and Christine Pirovolakis
Last updated at 7:49 PM on 28th June 2011
Riot police fought running battles with hooded youths in Athens today as tens of thousands took the streets against tough anti-austerity measures.
Parts of the capital were ablaze as youths hurled rocks, bricks and petrol bombs at police who responded with baton charges and tear gas.
Clouds of smoke were left hanging over the city's landmarks. Dozens were injured.
Tonight protesters, taking part in a two-day national strike, were on the streets again.
Pillars of fire: A fire during a 48-hour general strike, the first in the modern history of Greece, in Athens
Aflame: Riot police defend their position beside a burning van
On fire: Both a riot policeman and protester have to take swift action after catching light in Athens
Debt-ridden: Riot police run from the flames after protesters through petrol bombs near the Syntagma Square
Hundreds of terrified tourists ran for safety from cafes and restaurants as youths, many wearing gas masks and scarves covering their faces, rampaged in front of luxury hotels in Syntagma Square .
Shops, banks, trucks and bins were all set ablaze.
Five thousand police were patrolling the streets.
Hotel staff handed out surgical masks to tourists and helped them with rolling luggage past the rioting, over ground strewn with smashed-up marble and cement paving stones.
The rioting happened as the Greek parliament debated a £25billion cuts package and the EU warned there would be no more money if the reforms were not approved.
Athens burns: Protesters clash with riot police during the 24-hour general strike
Fury: A protesters attempts to smash a window with his foot during anti-austerity demonstrations today
Parliament is due to vote tomorrow and on Thursday over the hugely controversial packages of spending cuts, tax increases and privatisations agreed as part of a massive bailout – the second granted to Greece – aimed at averting the euro zone's first debt default.
EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn warned bluntly if Greece does not vote for more austerity there would be no more bailout money.
'I trust that Greek political leaders are fully aware of the responsibility that lies on their shoulders to avoid default: the only way to avoid immediate default is for parliament to endorse the revised economic programme,' he said.
The reforms are expected to scrape through parliament.
Target: Another protester uses a wheel lock to smash the window of a McDonald's restaurant
Stone throwing: Demonstrators confront riot police during protests against austerity measures in Athens today
Smoked out: A protester runs away from tear gas
Forced to flee: Riot police try to disperse a group of protesters
Clashes: Riot police grapple with protesters on the streets of Athens as violence threatened to spill over again in the Greek capital
However, polls suggest that up to 80 per cent of Greek people oppose the austerity measures which beleaguered Prime Minister George Papandreou claims is the only way of putting the country 'back on its feet'.
Crunch time: Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou faces a crucial vote on tough austerity measures tomorrow
Without a new plan in place, the EU and International Monetary Fund say they will withhold around £10 billion in euro loans which Greece needs to repay debts in mid-July.
The government's opponents argue the measures, which come on top of other spending cuts and tax rises that have sent Greek unemployment soaring to over 16 percent, will place taxes on minimum wage earners and other struggling Greeks.
'The situation that the workers are going through is tragic and we are near poverty levels,"'said Spyros Linardopoulos, a protester with the PAME union blockading the port of Piraeus. 'The government has declared war and to this war we will answer back with war.'
Everyone from doctors and ambulance drivers to casino workers and even actors at a state-funded theatre stopped work yesterday to join the strikers or held stoppages for several hours.
The general strike halted public services, closed banks, devastated train, bus and ferry services, shut airports after air traffic controllers walked out and blocked ports.
An on-going strike by electricity company workers kept up rolling blackouts across Greece.
The country is in the grip of its worst recession since the 1970s, with youth unemployment at more than 40 per cent and public finances shattered by a debt equivalent to some 150 per cent of annual economic output.
In full flow: One protester in jeans goes to kick a smoke bomb while another wearing a mask makes a dash
Hand in hand: Anti-austerity protesters shout slogans as riot police stand guard
On the rampage: A gas mask wearing man wielding a piece of wood prepares to attack a riot police officer
Unsuspecting: A protester sneaks up behind a riot policeman before hitting him with a thick stick in Athens
Please stop: A woman, alongside others carrying a red cross flag, attempt to calm protesters during the rioting
All creeds: An Orthodox cleric moves out on to the frontline to cnofront riot polcie
On the ground: Police arrest a demonstrator in front of the Greek Parliament
Taking prisoners: Riot police escort a bearded protester from the scene of carnage
Destruction: A protester throws a chair at riot police
Taunting: A rioter in fancy dress offers a 'peace symbol' to police
Deep in deficit and unable to borrow on financial markets, it depends on international support to keep going. A default would spread contagion around the 17-nation single currency area and cause a deep shock to the global economy.
But Greeks, who earlier had marched peacefully through Athens and other major cities banging drums and chanting slogans, say they will be unable to survive.
'They cut our pay by 25 per cent and a lot of people in my department have not been paid for two months,' said 52 year-old civil servant Yannis Zaharopoulos.
'We have got to the point where families cannot make it. We are financially and psychologically wrecked.'
Where's she off to? A tourist crosses the street with her suitcase
Stranded: Tourists sit at the port of Piraeus after unions prevented ferries from leaving during a 48-hour strike
Explore more:
People: John Redwood, David Cameron Places: Athens, Canada, Greece, The Netherlands, Germany, China, Kuwait, United Kingdom, India, Switzerland, Belgium Organisations: International Monetary Fund
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Iwish someone would give me money to pay my debts and sit on my bottom all day and then retire at 50. - left planet labour, thailand, 28/6/2011 5:45 IDIOT, I wish you had the intelligence to find out the true facts of this situation.
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Who said the E.U. would bring peace to Europe. Looks like we are in for a decade of unrest. How about the E.U. countries cancelling all debts they owe each other and starting from scratch, only this time lets be honest with each other and those who don.t follow the rules get chucked out before they can do any damage.
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What a load of idiots. No cutting back means no more international money and them being thrown out of the Euro zone. They are bringing everyone else down and we should give them not a pennt more.
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@flynnejammin, Nottingham and beyond: Who do we all owe all this money to? Who sits at the top? If you try to answer that question, you'd probably lose your job, end up in court, and then end up in jail. Concentrate on "britain's got talent" or the footy. Much safer than asking questions.
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This bail out thing - its not going to work is it? Money down the drain. It would be better for them to dump the Euro, revert to a realistic valued Drachma. Then the money markets and investors can help them back on their feet. Going deeper and deeper in debt by borrowing more and more has never been the path to a balanced bank account.
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Yeah ! That's the way ! Burn down what you can't afford to rebuild !! And these people think they can do a better job than the government !
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