athens protest
© Dimitris Tosidis/ANA-MPAUniversity and school students participate in a protest march in Thessaloniki over proposed changes to tertiary education, on 28 Thursday 2021. [
Thousands of students and teachers in Greece held demonstrations in Athens and second-largest city Thessaloniki on Thursday against proposed education reforms, defying a weeklong public ban on protests imposed as part of measures to tackle the coronavirus pandemic.

About 4,000 people, wearing masks to protect against the virus, marched through the streets of Athens, while another roughly 1,500 protesters demonstrated in Thessaloniki. Students and teachers oppose education reforms that include plans to set up a state security division at university campuses.

On Tuesday, the government announced a ban on protests attended by more than 100 people until Feb. 1, as part of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Violations are punishable by fines of up to 3,000 euros ($3,650) for individuals organizing rallies or demonstrations, and 5,000 euros (about $6,000) for groups or organizations.

It wasn't immediately clear if any fines would be imposed on the organizers of Thursday's protests.

Left-wing parties criticized the demonstration ban, with the main opposition Syriza party describing it as "arbitrary and undemocratic."

Greece has been under lockdown-type restrictions since early November, when a surge in coronavirus cases saw the country's health system come under strain. Although hospitalizations in intensive care units have eased somewhat, the number of new daily confirmed cases haven't fallen significantly despite the restrictions.