Police clashed with protesters outside the Greek parliament on Wednesday, blanketing the centre of Athens in tear gas as they came under attack from firebombs during a massive demonstration against austerity.
An AFP reporter saw some 200 youths hurling themselves at a steel barricade erected outside the parliament building as the street protest of some 70,000 people converged on central Syntagma Square at the beginning of a two-day general strike.
A battle later broke out outside a row of luxury hotels on the square and a department store was vandalised as small groups of hooded and masked protesters broke away from the main demonstration.
A presidential guard sentry box was set on fire near the tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Greece's foremost military monument that stands next to parliament, before police moved in to clear the area.
Police were also attacked in the second city of Thessaloniki, where the government's regional headquarters was assaulted by a group of 100 protesters throwing firebombs.
© AFP/ Aris MessinisUnion sources put the turnout at 200,000 people in Athens alone
Comment: No doubt these corporate psychopaths will find it a real pleasure to write off all those 'losses' and have to pay little or no tax.
How long before the banksters are crying "stimulus" again?