Thousands of protesters joined the annual November 17 march in Athens on Thursday on the one hand paying tribute to the student uprising against the junta regime in 1974, and on the other hand protesting against austerity measures imposed by the new unity government.
4,000 people had joined a first protest by students and unionists ahead of a second march by communists in the early evening. Twenty young people were arrested by police before the demonstration, while tear gas was employed in order to prevent further escalation of the tension.
Police deployed 7,000 officers across Athens for the demonstrations and cut traffic around downtown. This year’s commemorative march is seen as a test of the scale of public defiance against the new government of Lucas Papademos.
Hundreds of riot officers wearing body armour and equipped with tear gas, gas masks, batons and shields formed protective lines outside state buildings and embassies that are regularly targeted during protests.
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