“From Greece to France, give money for education”: With this call, Greece is joining the European wave of protests. In Athens and the surrounding area, around 10,000 schoolchildren and students took to the streets. Teachers and doctors also stopped work.

Thousands of students, pupils and teachers took to the streets in Greece on Wednesday. They demanded higher government spending on education, better facilities, less overcrowdingclassesandaffordable housingfor students. The protests follow demonstrations in France, Italy, Spain, Belgium and Portugal.

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Some people in Athens and the suburbs took part10,000 people, including pupils, students and teachers at the demonstrations. The police initially let the demonstrators go, but at the end of the demonstration at Omonia Square they took the demonstrators awayTear gas grenadesand beatings. There were several, sometimes violent, arrests by the Greek police. A police officer also threw oneFlash grenadeinto the metro station when many demonstrators were leaving Omonia Square. There were further rallies in, among other places, Thessaloniki in the north and in the western port city of Patras.

“From France to Greece”

In front of Parliamentchantedthe demonstrators: “From Greece to France we want public, free education.” And banners repeatedly read: “From Greece to France, give money for education.”

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The students' demands also include the abolition of private universities and more public money for state universities, as could be read on a flyer at the Athens demonstration. The high rents, which are almost unaffordable for students, were also criticized. Oncardboard signsin French it read: “Study or survive.” Students had previouslytentserected on Syntagma Square in Athens in front of the Parliament. A tent camp was also set up in Thessaloniki.

High cost of living, dilapidated schools

A 21 year oldstudentsaid: "Surviving here is very difficult, the rents are really high, the apartments are really small. Our parents can barely make ends meet to pay our rent, the electricity, our living here" A 20-year-old studentcriticized, the government is doing nothing to help students with the high costs. The rental subsidy of 120 euros per month is not even enough for half of the rent and is only paid out at the end of the year.

The averagemonthly salaryof 1,500 euros is still at the level of 2009, and many young Greeks can hardly afford apartments in the cities anymore. Increased inflation and sharp rises in fuel prices in connection with the Iran war are putting them under additional pressure.

The condition of the schools is also criticized. “The school buildings are terrible and poorly maintained,” said a 17-year-oldPupilsfrom Athens: “Falling plaster, broken windows, defective radiators.” Earlier this month, falling ceiling plaster injured a 14-year-old student in Thermi, near Thessaloniki. On Monday, a similar incident occurred at the entrance to an Athens school, outside of school hours. A large school complex in Athens with around 4,000 students has been closed for almost two weeks due to a suspected gas leak that is still being investigated. The teachers' association OLME puts the shortage of teachers in secondary schools nationwide at 15,000. According to Eurostat, Greece spent 3.3 percent of economic output on education in 2023, one of the lowest shares in the EU.

Strikes in education and healthcare

The teachers called one for Wednesdaystrikealthough some schools remained open. One teacher said: “We are on strike today because this situation cannot continue for our families, with the high costs, with the struggle to get through to the end of the month, with the situation in schools that is getting exponentially worse every year.”

In addition, some primary school teachers and doctors stopped working, thereby protesting against pay and a lack of staffprotested.

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